The Game (Fixed)
by PsychoxLuv
Summary: Laura Alexander, daughter of Grace Alexander, finds herself lost on The Planet of The Apes after trying to rescue her friend Leo. After meeting the General she begins a dangerous game that may just mean her death. Can Laura win or will it end in nothing but blood?
1. The Oberon

The music was loud in the girl's ears as she danced around the room. It made her move back and forth as she mouthed the words along with the song. Dancing had always put her in a good mood when she had a bad day and helped calm her stress levels. Not that her job really had her stressed, she enjoyed it quite a bit. Working with apes in training simulations aboard a space station with her mother was actually her dream job. It gave them more time together and she got to learn a lot about apes.

The problem was the commander of The Oberon, Karl Vasich. He was real by the book and rarely went outside the realm of the rules. Laura was sure it had made it easy for him to rise in the ranks, but when it came to things he knew nothing about she really wished he would keep his nose out of it. When it came to the apes her mother Grace knew more than anyone on the ship. So when the Commander came through and tried to place rules on the handling of the apes that he knows nothing about, Laura just wanted to scream at him to stay in his own lane.

Maybe it wasn't just him, Laura had never been very good with authority figures. She was a woman who always liked to do things her way and didn't like being pushed around. Her mother had tried to curb her rebellious attitude by telling her that they would be able to get more done if Laura would stop antagonizing the Commander. So for a while, the young woman had tried to keep the peace between them. Until yesterday, when he decided to tell her that it was now against the rules for her to be doing training simulations. Laura had wanted to learn how to be a pilot like her friend Leo. Now it seemed like it was never going to happen for her.

"Laura!"

She was pulled out of her thoughts and dancing trance when her music was suddenly shut off. Speak of the devil. Standing next to her stereo was her friend and co-worker, Leo Davidson. Leo was the closest thing Laura had to a brother. They spent a lot of time together on the ship discussing things from piloting to how the apes had been doing. While Leo was a very good pilot he was also an ape pilot trainer. His ape Pericles still had a lot to learn but Laura felt like it was mostly nerves on Pericles's part.

"Leo, how can I help you?" Laura asked running her hands through her dark hair and breathing heavily from her exertions.

"Your mother is looking for you, you know Grace hates having to wait."

Laura nodded and followed Leo out of her quarters and through the long hallways of the space station. Once they reached the end of the hall they stepped onto an elevator and Leo pushed the button to get them to where the apes were housed. When the doors of the elevator closed Leo turned towards Laura.

"I heard about the Commander shutting down your training," Leo ran his hand through his short cut brown hair, "I'm really sorry Laura."

Laura felt herself shift from leaning on one leg to the other and bit the inside of her cheek. There was a lot she wanted to get off her chest about their so-called Commander, but she didn't want to make Leo pissed off at him too. It was different for him, Leo was a pilot and he needed to be on the Commander's good side in order to get certain things done.

"Not as sorry as I am Leo, but maybe he did it for a good reason," Laura tried to keep her voice from sounding strained and thought she did pretty good.

The face Leo made at her words made her realize she sucked at keeping her emotions hidden. She sighed heavily and crossed her arms. "Okay, I'm pretty pissed by it. It just feels like he's trying to keep me down."

"It's probably because you like to argue with him about everything, he is our Commander Laura. He's not used to being disrespected, this is probably his way of trying to get you to realize he's the one in charge."

I hate it when he's right.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened, as they both stepped out Laura couldn't help but tack on, "Well he doesn't have to be a dick about it." Which earned a smile from Leo.

As they entered the main room Laura could hear the apes in their cages. Her mother was leaning over the observation table and taking notes. Laura's mother Grace was an older woman with golden blonde hair. The apes on the Oberon were her whole life, and she did the best she could to keep them happy and healthy.

Laura walked around the table and leaned her elbows on it and held her head in her hands, "Hey mom, what did you need from little ole me?"

"Where have you been Laura?" Grace asked with a sigh as she looked over at her young daughter. "I need your help, Leo just got done with Pericles and I need your help to get Myra out to check on her pregnancy."

"First, I was blowing off steam by dancing up a storm."

Leo snickered and covered his mouth to stop himself from full-on laughing, "Yeah she was really into it, waving arms and almost breaking furniture."

Laura smiled at him and straightened up, "You know I dance great!" She winked at Leo and they shared a laugh before she continued, "Secondly, yes, I will help with Myra."

Grace shook her head at them but couldn't help the smile that pulled at her lips. Laura walked over to Myra's cage and kneeled down in front of it. Myra had always been a rather quiet chimp but ever since Pericles had gotten her pregnant she had been acting a bit strange. Laura wasn't surprised that her mother wanted to check on her.

"Here Myra, let's get you and that little one checked out okay," Laura said placing a treat through the bars of the cage.

Myra stared back out at her and let out a warning hoot and backed up closer to the back of the cage wall. Laura gave a slight sigh and shook her head. "Come on Myra, no one is gonna hurt you, we just need to make sure you and the baby are okay."

The female looked between Laura and the treat and carefully moved forward before snagging the treat and eating it. Laura chuckled, "Oh so your not too upset to take my treats I see."

Myra grunted at her and Laura opened the door to her cage. Reaching in Myra gripped onto her and allowed Laura to lift her up and onto her hip.

"You know she seems a bit calmer with you around. Last night Paul tried to give her a treat and she snapped at him," Grace said as she finished her notes and put them away. "I was worried we would have more problems getting her out."

"Myra just doesn't take other people's bullshit," Laure replied handing Myra another treat. "Paul shouldn't have been stupid enough to call her names and expect her not to know by his tone that he was being a dick."

"Yeah well, the Commander has him in solitude right now. Says he needs to be alone so he can calm his nerves. I think he's going a little crazy being on the station." Leo said crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.

"Ah, the 'station craze' has struck again," Laura replied with a smirk and a raised brow.

"It's not a joke Laura, Paul was really starting to fall apart. From what the Commander said it sounds like they are going to have to send him back home," Grace chastised while looking at her daughter with a serious expression.

Laura rubbed the back of her neck with one hand before she replied, "Sorry mom."

"It's probably a good idea they are sending him home then," Leo said with a tight expression.

The conversation was suddenly cut short by the light flickering and going completely out. The apes seemed to sense something was wrong and started causing an uproar. Laura held onto Myrah tighter and she felt the female's grip tighten as well. It took only a moment for the lights to flicker back to life.

"What the hell was that?" Laura asked as Leo was suddenly called up on deck. "Leo?"

He turned back towards her as he was starting to head up, "Don't worry, I'll see whats going on."

Laura nodded but still felt nervous as she watched Leo walk away. Her mother walked up beside her and placed a comforting hand on her daughter's shoulder.

She suddenly felt a tugging on her arm and she realized she was still holding Myra. The female ape was tugging at her and looking back at her cage.

"Yeah, you're probably going to be safer in there for now anyway," Laura said as she walked back over to her cage and opened the door, watching Myra climb back inside it. Before she went to stand back up she felt a hand reach out and grab her arm. Laura looked back at Myra and smiled. "It's all going to be okay, don't worry."

She stared at her for a bit before releasing Laura's arm and leaning back into the cage.

I don't remember her being this smart before. I wonder whats changed. Laura thought as she stood up and walked back over to her mother.

Leo returned to them looking pretty miffed, the only thing he said was that he needed Grace to get Pericles. Laura looked at him with questioning eyes and Leo sighed heavily before speaking,

"There is some kind of electrical storm and Commander Vasich doesn't want to send me out, says it's too dangerous. He wants to send Pericles."

Laura went to protest but Leo stopped her with a look, "I already tried to talk him out of it, he wouldn't listen to me. I don't want this anymore then you do."

She believed him, but still didn't want it to happen. The truth was it didn't matter what either of them wanted, Pericles was still suited up and put in his pod. Leo gave him a few reassuring words and Laura smiled at him and gave him a treat.

"Now you be careful out there okay?" Laura said as she looked back at Myra's cage for a moment before turning back to Pericles, "You have a child counting on you."

As the pod was pulling out Pericles gave them both a thumbs up and it pulled at Laura's heartstrings. She knew why he had to go out first, and the truth was she didn't want to risk Leo either. Laura wished there had been a way to check out the storm without risking anyone. But that's just not how it was.

Laura went with Leo and her mother up to the deck and watched as Pericles's pod headed for the storm. At first, everything was routine, he was on a straight course and they had perfect radio contact. Until his pod started veering off course. Leo tried to instruct him on how to fix it, but nothing seemed to work. Laura felt her heart sink as his pod just disappeared into the storm.

"His heart rate is spiking, he's scared," Grace said, which didn't make Laura feel any better. She could only imagine how Leo was feeling. When she looked over at him his entire face was drawn up into a worried grimace.

Leo stepped towards Commander Vasich, "Sir."

"For now we just sit tight and wait," The Commander replied closing the subject. Leo glared at him and Laura felt her fists clench. Laura didn't think she had ever been as mad at their Commander as she was now.

She watched Leo out of the corner of her eyes, and she knew him better than to just sit back and wait. When he gave an excuse about running sequences Laura followed after him.

When they reached the pods she grabbed his arm. "You can not be thinking of going after him."

"I have to Laura, he's my responsibility. I'm not letting him go out like this." He snatched his arm back but Laura didn't take offense. Still, she didn't want him risking his life as well.

"Let me come with you at least," She begged as Leo frantically put on his suit.

"No, you stay here. Grace would never forgive me if something bad happened to you."

With that said he closed the pod and she watched it leave the docking bay. Laura tried to stay calm and think things through, but all she could think about was what would happen if she lost them both. She clenched her jaw and flung open an empty pod door and stepped inside. The suit didn't take long to put on and then she closed the pod door. Turning on the comm she could hear Commander Vasich yelling at Leo to return. It took only a push of a button for her pod to be heading out as well.

"Laura," Her mother shouted at her through the comm, "What the hell do you think you're doing, get back here right now!"

"Mom I love you, but I'm not losing Leo to some stupid space storm. I'm going to bring him back, hopefully with Pericles as well."

"Laura please!"

She had to shut off the comm at that point. Hearing her mother plead for her to return was almost more than Laura could bear. She swore when she got Leo back she was going to kick his ass for this. Slowly her pod started to catch up with Leo's, until just like before with Pericles, his pod disappeared.

Before she could turn the comm back on to signal for him, her pod hit turbulence and alarms started to go off. A blinding flash of light had her covering her eyes and crying out. Then there was nothing. Laura looked out her pod window but didn't see any other pods or even the space station anymore. She quickly turned the comm back on.

"Leo! Leo can you hear me?!" She was met with nothing but deafening silence. "Mom! Are you there?!"

Lost. I'm lost in space.

Tears started to sting her eyes and she bit her lower lip, "God damn it, Leo! You and your fucking monkey love!"

Laura didn't really blame him or Pericles, but yelling was the only thing she could think of to do. Just as she was starting to take calming breaths a vortex opened up in front of her. It seemed to come out of nowhere and swallowed her pod. Suddenly everything in her pod came back online and she realized what was happening.

She was falling. Fast.

"Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me!" Laura cried out as she started flipping switches, trying to get her pod back into flight.

Below her it seemed like a jungle, everything sweeping under her was covered in green. She pulled at the controls and lowered the landing gear as she continued to free fall.

I am not dying like this!

The pod hit the tops of the trees but it seemed to handle it better then she thought it was going to. It started to fall through the trees and then began sliding on the ground, getting the pod covered in mud and water.

"Come on baby, you can make it, just come to a damn halt!"

Her entire jaw was clenched as she continued to pull on the controls. That's when the mountain appeared. Laura felt her heart fall from her chest and down into her stomach, her eyes going wide as dinner plates. She tried hard to get the pod to turn in a different direction but it was refusing to cooperate. Laura squeezed her eyes shut and knew there was nothing she could do.

I'm so sorry mom.

* * *

AN: Hello everyone and welcome to the new and improved The Game! Fixing these chapters is going to take time, as I really want to try and get it right. I hope you enjoy the new and improved chapter. Please leave a comment and let me know if this is better or worse! It's so good to be back!


	2. Finding Civilization

As her whole body tensed up for the incoming crash she felt the pod start to slow down. Laura didn't know if it was going to be able to stop before it hit the mountain and she was too scared to look up. The pod kept moving until it dug itself into the ground so much that it lurched to a stop. No crash came. No sound of broken glass or crushed metal. Laura slowly opened her eyes and felt her whole body flood with relief. Her pod had come to a stop just a few feet from the mountain.

Laura leaned back in her seat and pulled off her suit's helmet. Running her hand through her hair she tried to gather her thoughts. Okay, I just crash-landed on this strange planet. I should see if I can get into contact with someone. She tried to flip the comm back on but there was nothing but static relayed back to her. Flipping it back off Laura felt a shiver of fear run down her spine. Okay just stay calm, maybe I can find someone nearby and get some help.

She tried pushing the release button on the pod's door but it didn't respond. Lucky for her the door had an emergency release latch and with a grunt, she was able to manually pop open the pod's door. Laura climbed out of the pod on shaky legs and suddenly realized that it was a good thing this planet had oxygen because she didn't even stop to think about it.

Already off to a great start Laura.

Looking around she realized her pod had crashed in some kind of marsh area of the jungle. She was surrounded by trees, murky water, and the mountain that tried to kill her. Unzipping her spacesuit she tried to think of a plan. Laura didn't know how long she was going to be here for or how long it would take to find help. She was going to need food and freshwater, neither of which she was going to find in this area.

I have two options, either I wait around here and hope someone saw the crash and comes to help me, or I try and find some help for myself. While waiting around could yield results I don't like the idea of just sitting around here and waiting. What if the people who do find me aren't friendly?

While she was going back and forth in her head she came to the realization that if she stayed at the crash site, she may get nowhere at all. This jungle had seemed huge from above and with her luck, there wouldn't be people around for miles. So she decided to head out in hopes of finding shelter and maybe civilization. Before she went to head out she checked the inside of the pod to see if there were any tools inside that could help her. It was then that she realized she hadn't grabbed the bag of supplies that had been sat beside her pod before she went out.

No wonder the Commander didn't want me to be a pilot, I can't even remember to grab my emergency supplies!

Laura rolled her eyes so hard she was surprised they didn't get stuck in her head. So with no tools or gear of any kind, she set off in the direction that her pod had fallen from. Hopefully, she would be able to find some food and water along the way.

After about a mile she was able to wander out of the marsh and into a more open area of the jungle. There was still no sign of anyone, but Laura was trying to keep her spirits up by thinking about how her mother would chew her out when she got back, and how hard she was going to punch Leo when she saw him again. The thought actually made her smile for the first time since she crashed.

When she heard a rustle come through the bushes near her she jumped about a foot in the air. A young boy probably not even ten, wearing rags, and a dirty face appeared in front of her.

"Where did you come from? You scared the shi- crap outta me," Laura asked as she tried to steady her heartbeat.

The young boy just stared at her and it was kinda freaking her out. Maybe seeing her here had frightened him just as much as her.

"Look, I'm sorry, my names Laura. What's your name?" She asked as she kneeled down to his level and gave him a warm smile.

He gave a smile back but also covered his face before he replied in a soft voice, "My name is Dayne."

Aw, he's such a shy cutie.

"Well, Dayne, could you tell me where your parents are, or any other people?"

The little boy thought about it for a moment before he motioned at her to follow him. Laura breathed out a sigh of relief and followed the child through the bushes back the way he had come from. Maybe her luck was starting to turn around. His parents could tell her where she was and hopefully, how to get back home.

Dayne would look back every now and again to make sure she was still following him. There was no way she was going to wander off now. Too much was riding on this for her to get lost now. They must have walked for a good while because she could hear the birds starting to sing again. The trees were getting a bit sparse and rocks were jutting up out of the ground all around them. As they passed through some more bushes she could hear the sound of talking, laughing, and children playing.

The sweet sounds of civilization.

But when she saw the people, it was far from what she expected. They were all dressed in rags like the boy. Ratted hair and dirty faces littered the crowd, and their homes were nothing but huts.

How far from home am I?

Laura must have stopped in her tracks because she suddenly felt a hand grab hers and start to tug her into the small village. She looked down to see Dayne and noticed he was pulling her towards a specific hut. Following behind him she felt what little hope she had gathered dissolving. Dayne led her over to an older woman who was scrubbing other rags. When she noticed them she stood up.

"Dayne, who is this?"

The young boy looked up at the woman and smiled, "Momma this is Laura. She fell from the sky!"

He said it with such excitement that his mother couldn't help but chuckle at him. "Of course she did my dear." The older woman patted his head but then looked over at Laura with suspicion.

Laura hadn't thought that the boy had seen her crash. Then again that would explain why he had wandered so far from his village. She silently wondered if anyone else had seen her terrible landing.

"Dayne why don't you go play with the other children, I'll take care of this stranger." His mother said with a smile before eyeing Laura again.

The boy nodded and waved at Laura before running off to play with the other children. The kids smiled and welcomed him back with open arms. They started to play fight with sticks some of them were making monkey noises. Odd.

"So where are you really from? My son is always making up wild stories, I'm not surprised if they include someone falling from the sky."

Laura turned back to the older woman and noticed her softly smiling at her while rubbing her hands on her rags. It wasn't hard to understand why the woman would think the story was nothing but that. It really did sound crazy.

"I know it sounds like a messed up story, but it's true. I crash-landed here, my pod is a few miles from here. I'm surprised your son was the only one to see it," Laura explained trying not to sound too crazy.

"Pod? My dear, did you hit your head on something? Listen, my name is Lilah, how about you come inside and get some food and water in you. Maybe then you can try and explain this better," The mother replied taking Laura's hand in hers, "Come inside and rest with me a while, you can get cleaned up and maybe you can explain to me how you got those strange clothes as well."

Laura looked down at herself but didn't think her clothes were that strange. It was just a tank top, pants, and boots. But considering everyone here was wearing nothing but rags maybe it was strange to them. She allowed Lilah to lead her inside her hut and into a sitting position on the floor. Looking around the hut she realized there was almost nothing inside. There were blankets on the floors for them to sleep on and a fire in the middle of the hut. In a basket near the side of the camp were some fruits and a few jugs she guessed contained freshwater.

Lilah handed Laura a big bowl of water and a wet rag to clean herself up, then she began to peel up some fruit. After Laura finished washing her face and arms she felt a bit more like herself. When Lilah handed her the cut-up fruit and a small cup of water, Laura decided to go ahead and ask some questions of her own.

"Can you tell me where I am exactly?"

Lilah took a seat across from her on the ground and replied, "We are a small village only a few days from The Ape City. Since we are so far away they don't usually disturb us."

As Laura was placing a piece of fruit in her mouth she said, "Oh well that's good ne-," She suddenly realized exactly what Lilah had said and almost choked on the fruit she had been eating. It took Lilah slapping Laura on the back a few times and a coughing fit before she could speak again, "I'm sorry, I must have heard you wrong, did you just say Ape City?"

Lilah nodded at her words, "Yes, but like I said they don't bother coming out this far."

Ape city. The city of apes. An ape city. Filled with Apes. Laura could swear she could feel her eye twitching. Which would explain why Lilah was staring at her like she had just grown a second head.

"You really aren't from around here are you?"

"No, I'm really not," Laura replied feeling her throat going dry. She took a drink of water from her cup and tried to keep it together. Running a hand through her hair she felt herself starting to lose it a bit. Laura was grateful that Lilah was letting her try and think through things without throwing a bunch of shit at her all at once. Taking a deep breath in and then out she looked back over at Lilah. "Okay give me the run down, tell me about this place."

"Our people are scarce. Humans have a few scattered villages across the jungle, but most are raided by the apes. They gather up humans from them to be made into slaves for their city. They rule over us and aren't afraid to wipe out entire villages in a bloody slaughter if the human population grows too large. They are, merciless," Lilah seemed very upset as she spoke about it, almost as if she had witnessed it first hand. Laura didn't want to pry but after a moment Lilah spoke again, "I lost Dayne's father to them. Our old village had grown too large, and they came to wipe us out. His father gave us time to get away by sacrificing himself. It was terrible."

Laura found herself laying a hand on Lilah's, "I am so sorry you had to go through that." The older woman smiled in appreciation.

How did this happen? Where in the universe am I? How am I going to get back home?!

That's when reality hit her hard. What if she couldn't get home. What if she was stuck in this place, lost forever. Never to see her mother or Leo again. Tears started to roll down her cheeks and Lilah seemed very concerned.

"Oh please don't cry young one, here we are safe. They have never come out this far and I doubt they will now, there is nothing to be scared of," Lilah said laying a concerned hand on Laura's shoulder. Laura felt ashamed that Lilah felt like she had to comfort her. She had just talked about losing the man she loved. At least as far as Laura knew, Leo and her mother were alive and well.

Laura felt a bit foolish and quickly wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. She wasn't going to give up on finding Leo and finding a way home. Pulling herself together she realized that if this Ape City took slaves there was a chance that they had found Leo and taken him.

If he crashed here and lived through it that is.

Laura was really getting tired of all these depressing thoughts.

With a determined look in her eyes, Laura stood up and looked down at where Lilah was sitting. "So where is this Ape City?"


	3. Enslaved

It had been three days since Laura had left the little village and set out for the Ape City, and Laura was starting to run out of food. When she had explained to Lilah that she had to get to the city to hopefully save her friend, Lilah had been kind enough to give her some supplies for the hike there. Also, the directions she had given Laura had been very helpful as well. Laura made sure to eat only as much as she needed to stretch out her food as well as her water. At night she would find small caves or even trees she could climb up into to sleep.

It was the middle of the afternoon now and sweat was starting to appear on her brow. Laura used her shirt to wipe her face and gave out an aggravated groan. She was tired, so very tired of trekking through the damn jungle and tired of being tired. At this point, all she wanted was a bed and a shower. But seeing as how she doubted she would be coming up on either any time soon, she continued her hike.

I swear I'm actually in hell. I died in that crash and now I'm in hell.

Just as she thought that a scream echoed through the jungle and all around her. Her eyes got wide and she quickly placed herself up against one of the many trees. Lots of footsteps could be heard then and more screaming. Laura leaned her head back against the tree and cursed under her breath. Then came a different kind of noise, hooting, and screeching rang through the jungle as well. She remembered that noise all to well from all the time she spent with the apes on the station. All the noise soon combined into one loud cacophony as they all seemed to be coming closer.

Fuck. I need to find a place to hide!

Looking around her frantically she realized that across from her about a yard away was a tree with a hollowed-out middle. She ran as fast as she could and slammed herself into the hole just as the huge crowd reached her. Humans of all colors, shapes, and ages ran past her tree and all around her. Looking out from her hiding spot a bit she could see apes swinging from the trees and throwing nets and catching the humans.

The apes are wearing armor, holy shit! I have to stay hidden, I can't let them find me!

Just as she was pulling her head back into the tree to keep hidden a little girl tripped and fell right in front of her tree. An ape landed right beside her and snatched her up from the ground and started to carry her away. As much as Laura wanted to stay hidden away, she just couldn't bring herself to let this happen. Putting all the rage from her situation into her movement she charged from her hiding spot and tackled the ape to the jungle floor. He lost his grip on the young girl and she rolled away from them.

"Run now," Laura screamed at the girl, who didn't think twice and booked it out of there.

Of course, she was quickly overwhelmed by the ape and he picked her up and threw her to the ground so hard she lost all the air in her lungs. He didn't give her a chance to catch her breath before he reached down and grabbed her by the hair and started dragging her towards the way he had come from. Laura tried to struggle but his grip wasn't budging and at this point, she was only causing herself more pain. So she took the petty route and just went limp, letting all her weight drag and she could tell it was getting on the ape's nerves.

See, I can be an asshole too.

She wasn't dragged far before the ape snatched her up and threw her into the back of a carriage with a large cage surrounding it. Looking forward she could see the cart being pulled by a pair of horses. Standing up she could see the other humans around her, they were all filthy and some had bruises and blood running down their heads from being tackled by their captors. She turned to see out the bars of the cage and watched as some of the other apes climbed up onto horses.

"The apes can ride horses," She whispered to herself in disbelief. Turning back around she slowly sunk to the floor of the cage.

Well, this is one way of getting into the city.

Not what she had planned, not that she even had a plan, to begin with, but this would work fine. The carriage rocked and moaned as it made its way through the jungle at a pretty steady pace. Suddenly the irony hit her that she had been complaining about walking and then this happened. It was enough to almost make her chuckle to herself, but she didn't want to draw any unwanted attention.

When she started to hear more voices she looked back out of the bars and saw the giant walls of the Ape City. Turns out she hadn't been too far from it. Riding through the city she could barely register what she was seeing. Apes in clothing and walking upright like humans, hell she swore she saw one getting a haircut. The houses and some of the businesses were built into trees and walls of rock. Vines and moss grew everywhere and the whole place was beautiful.

The cart rode through what looked like some kind of bazaar and came to a stop before a large hole in the rock. The humans all stood up and Laura followed their lead. From the opening in the rock, a scraggy looking orangutang walked out and started looking over the cage with a scowl on his face.

"Alright let's see this new batch now," He said looking over the humans in the cage. His small eyes looked over every single one of them. When his gaze landed on her it made her feel really uncomfortable. With a scoff, he turned back to the apes who had captured them all, "This is what I get to sell, they all look ragged and mangy."

He's talking! That fucking orangutang is talking!

From the look on the captor's faces, she guessed this wasn't the first time he complained about the humans that came his way. The orangutang still bought them all and screamed out for them to get taken out and cleaned. Some other apes, mostly gorilla from what Laura could see, came out from the opening and slammed open the door of the cage. The gorillas then reached in and snatched the humans out one by one and shoved them over to other gorillas who began sorting them all. Laura got pulled and shoved into a line with the other women, which Laura didn't understand because then she was shoved into a cage with both men and women.

She wondered what they meant by cleaning when she noticed a gorilla picking up a hot iron with a brand at the end of it. Laura almost keeled over. There was no way in hell that thing was going to touch her. They swung open the cage doors and another gorilla reached in with a strange metal arm with a claw at the end that grabbed a man by the neck. He then took the human at the end of the arm and held him down while the gorilla with the brand stuck it to the man, then threw the man back into the cage.

Just as they were about to reach for another one, three new apes appeared from a set of stairs in the rock. One was clearly a chimp and the other two were gorillas, the chimp and one of the gorillas were dressed in armor. The other gorilla was older and wearing rich robes of blue and silver. They all seemed to be in the middle of some kind of discussion. When the older gorilla raised his hand up to silence the chimp, the chimp seemed pretty damn annoyed.

"I know what your thoughts are on the human concern General and you know mine, continuing to bring up this topic won't change my mind," The older gorilla moved towards the cages and gestured at the humans inside, "They are no real threat to us, they can barely survive as it is."

Although Laura hated to admit it, looking at the humans here, it didn't really look like they were much of a threat. Apes were already much stronger than humans, match that with their intelligence and humans didn't really stand a good chance.

"Their numbers grow every day, even with the raids, their numbers keep swelling," The chimp growled eyeing the humans with disgust, "They are more of a threat then you know, or are willing to admit."

Before the gorilla in robes could respond, the scraggy orangutang was on them. "Senator Nald, General Thade, Commander Attar, what can I do for you today?"

Senator? General? Commander? All of these apes have prestigious titles?! None of this is going to make sense any time soon.

The Senator seemed grateful for the interruption and turned his attention back to the cages. "Limbo, I am here to get a slave of my own. I hate to admit it but I am getting on in years and could use a human to do chores around the house and to run errands."

"Excellent," Limbo exclaimed clapping his hands together. The general didn't seem too thrilled with the idea. He glared from the Senator to the cages. By chance, Laura met his gaze and she felt a chill run down her spine. Yet, she didn't look away. It felt like them staring at each other was some kind of dominance showdown, and Laura was just stubborn enough to not back down.

Suddenly the cage was smacked and it made Laura lose her focus. It was the Commander glaring at her through the bars of the cage. Looking him over she was almost willing to bet money he was a silverback. "Keep your eyes down human!"

"Leave her Commander, the last I checked it wasn't against the law for them to look at us," The Senator chastised as he made his way over to Laura. The Senator was indeed older than the others as he had white hair running through his black. His eyes were inspecting her and held both curiosity and something else she couldn't place. "Tell me, girl, can you speak?"

"Senator it's rare -"

"I believe he was directing the question at me," Laura said interrupting Limbo with a raised brow. Limbo seemed flustered by her words but didn't bother to reply.

"Well now, that answers that," The Senator chuckled, "This girl seems rather fearless, most humans wouldn't dare make eye contact with you General."

Laura couldn't help but smirk at his words, she wasn't going to be intimidated by someone just because they shot her nasty looks. Taking the opportunity, she looked back over at the General and held his gaze again. This time he didn't seem interested in playing, he immediately rushed towards the cage and grabbed Laura by her shirt, pulling her up against the bars.

"This human doesn't know her place yet Senator. You shouldn't allow such disrespect towards us all. Your weak heart will be the death of our people," He growled and with the way Laura had her head turned it was right in her ear.

"Do you always get this close to people you've just met or is it just me," Laura asked as she locked her hazel eyes with his dark green ones. The glare he gave her was deadly, and she knew that if there wasn't a cage between them, she would probably be dead right now. Being this close to him did give her a chance to look him over though. His hair was dark brown and under his chin was a stark white beard. His gaze held nothing but malice and it gave Laura chills. In the back of her mind, something was desperately telling her to back down, which she ignored.

The sound of bellowing laughter disrupted the tension between them and they both looked over at the Senator. "I like this human," Nald said as he stepped over towards Thade. "Release her General, this is the slave for me."

"You don't want a slave that snaps off at the mouth Senator," Thade replied, "Let me cut out her tongue first."

Nald did not seem impressed and let out a growl of warning, "You will do as you're told General and release her."

Thade wouldn't look at Laura as he released her shirt and he took a step back. "I didn't mean to anger you, Senator, you know I put our safety above everything. Peace between our kind and theirs can only lead to our destruction."

The Senator sighed heavily, seemingly exhausted by the argument. "I will speak to the others about your reports. That is the best I can do for now."

Thade seemed appeased by his words but he still seemed upset. Laura guessed this wasn't the only time this discussion had happened between them. She didn't want to agree with the General, but the fact was, after all the kidnappings, raids, and slavery, she didn't see a way that peace could be achieved. There would be humans who would want revenge and would go to great lengths to get it.

"Now if this conversation is over, Limbo, I want her," Nald said waving a hand in Laura's direction. Laura didn't have to look at Thade in order to feel the hatred radiating off him. She turned to look at him but he wasn't looking at her, his eyes were directed at the Senator.

"Of course Senator, let me just get her branded and she's all yours."

Laura grew pale at the slaver's words. She knew she would have to think fast in order to get out of this situation. Moving forward she gripped onto the bars and said, "Surely the Senator doesn't want a slave that's been tarnished by a brand? How would other apes take me seriously while I'm out doing his bidding?"

The Senator gave a chuckle and looked towards Limbo, "She has a point, I will take her as she is."

Relief rushed through Laura but she didn't dare show it.

"This human is too slick for my liking, she's going to be trouble," Attar muttered to General Thade.

Laura ignored the words as Limbo got one of his guards to open her cage door. She walked out and went and stood next to Senator Nald. Limbo scratched the back of his head and asked, "So what will you name her Senator?"

The girl visibly prickled at the slaver's words, "I already have a name, it's Laura."

The Senator looked down at her with a look of boredom, "That name may have worked for other humans, but now you are my property. You need a new name for your new life," He seemed to think for a moment before he looked down at her with a smile. "I think I shall call you Dahlia, what do you think about that?"

She hated it, she hated that she felt like she was leaving her old life behind. Laura calmed and reminded herself that this was all pretending to her, a means to an end. With the Senator on her side, it might be easier for her to find Leo and get back home. Even if he didn't know it yet. Her eyes seemed to search out the General and she realized she could still have some fun while she was here. He seemed so uptight and all that made her want to do was push his buttons. She would have to be careful of it though.

"I love it," Laura replied to Nald with a sweet smile.

"Good, then let us be on our way, your going to need a bath and some new clothes."

The Senator was already starting to leave and Laura followed behind him. She could feel eyes burning holes into her back, she looked and saw the General glaring at her so hard his eyes were mere slits. Just as she and her new 'Master' were about to disappear around the corner she shot the General a playful smirk and winked at him.


	4. A New Home

Senator Nald led Laura through the marketplace on their way back to his home. He made sure to point out all the traders and their different wares. The fruit stand was owned by an older chimp who waved others over to check out his fresh goods. The stand where they sold silks was owned by a female orangutang who seemed to smile at everyone who came to look. Laura wanted to stop and admire the silks; they were all so colorful. Luckily she got the chance to, as Nald stopped in front of her stall.

"I see you got a human female," The orangutang noted as she headed towards the back of her stall. She came back with a large box and carefully handed it to Nald. The female noticed Laura looking over the silks and added, "Look all you want human, but don't touch the wares. Apes won't buy them if they know human hands were on them."

Laura wanted to snap at her but thought better of it, she didn't want to embarrass Nald. The last thing she wanted was to be returned to the slaver. So Laura merely nodded her head and took a step back from the stall.

They were then back on their way to the place that would be her new home. Nald looked down at her with an approving smile. She guessed he was happy with the way she handled the stall vendor, but he didn't say anything.

Laura suddenly stopped in place when she noticed a certain stall. Laying on it, in all different designs and colors, were collars. Her hand instinctively went to her throat and she looked around the market. All the other humans out and about had collars on. How had she not noticed?

Looks like I'm going to be getting a new accessory.

"Laura, you'll want to keep up. Fall too far behind and you may become lost."

She quickly went to catch up with the senator and tried to push the collars out of her mind. As she fell back into step with him, he chuckled at her. "I'm guessing you haven't seen so many goods in one place before?"

As much as she wanted to tell him the truth and see his reaction, there was some part of her that told her he wouldn't believe her and she didn't want him to think she was crazy. "No I haven't, It's quite a sight."

"Well once I have the time, I shall find someone to give you a tour of the city. I'm usually rather busy otherwise, I would do it myself."

Being a senator she could see what he meant. Although she did wonder what he actually worked on. It was a short time before they passed all the stalls and were walking down a dirt path. Seeing his home, made her stop in her tracks. There was a large tree, strong and proud jutting out of the ground. The tree had a large roundhouse with a wrap-around porch and a long row of wooden stairs leading up to it.

Looking around and behind her, she noticed a large wall made of wood surrounding the property and that it only had one opening. That being the one they had just came through. All along the wall near the opening were guards, lots of them. They were all gorilla, standing at attention. She noticed they looked over at her briefly before going back to how they were.

"Don't be afraid, they won't harm you." Laura realized the senator was standing before her. "What do you think?"

"Your home looks very beautiful."

Nald smiled and motioned toward the stairs and they both started climbing them up to the door. The stairs seemed pretty steady, none of them wobbled or creaked which made her feel safer. When they reached the door she waited till the senator gave a notion that it was okay to open it. Laura reached for the knob and was surprised to find it unlocked. With all the security she guessed he didn't have to keep it bolted.

The inside was just as lovely as the outside. The woodwork was a warm color, and the furniture looked comfy and fit the senator well. The living room was separated from the dining room by vines that hung in an archway. When she passed through them she noticed the dining room was big with a large wooden table, sturdy and dark. There were yellow flowers in a vase in the middle of the table. The kitchen was up a few steps and was pretty simple. Laura guessed he didn't entertain much. He seemed like more of a solitary ape.

When she turned back to the senator she noticed he was eyeing her, watching for her reaction perhaps. "It's very lovely," Laura said with a soft smile.

"My dear there is something we must discuss. The rules and regulations you will need to follow. As well as how you must behave." Before Laura could speak up, Nald raised his hand to silence her. "I enjoy the fact that you speak your mind. But others will not, and my influence can only do so much. Now you handled the stall vendor well, and I expect you to treat all other apes with the same respect."

Laura looked down with a clenched jaw but knew she wouldn't have much choice. The last thing she needed was to draw unwanted attention to herself. She couldn't be getting arrested or potentially executed. Nald came forward and lifted her head up to look at him, "However, this place can be your haven. Here you can speak your mind, and I will treat you with respect."

"So, you want me to play the part of the obedient servant when I'm around other apes? But here, I can be myself with no consequences."

"Very good, I'm glad you understand. Also, you will have to get used to your new name. Giving you a new name may have seemed harsh, but it was necessary. Others will see you as an extension of myself now."

She couldn't help but agree, using this new name would make them see her more as his property, which she guessed was better than them just seeing her as some normal slave. It didn't make her like it anymore though. Still, she made a note to get used to her new name as quickly as possible.

"There will be more for you to learn, but for now, I think you would like to get some food and wash up."

Laura did like the sound of that, very much so in fact. The senator brought in a bowl of fruit and they ate together. Nald talked to her about his work, how he was trying to make things more tolerable for humans. So far he had at least made it to where apes weren't allowed to beat their humans out in the open. He had stated the reason for the law as keeping things civil in public. He knew it was still happening in private, but he had to be careful when it came to humans issues. According to him most of the other senators hated humans, and he had to work with what he had. Laura felt bad for him, it had to be hard trying to change things for the better. Especially when there were others who felt the complete opposite with the majority.

After she washed the dirt and grime off she felt more like herself. Looking into the mirror she realized this place couldn't change her unless she let it. She still had the same dark hair and light blue eyes. Laura still felt like Laura, even if she was going to be called something else. Pretend, that's all this was.

There was a knock on the door that surprised her. "Your new clothes are in your room now, here is some for you to wear for now. I'll leave it here in front of the door."

She heard him walk away and she walked over to the door and opened it slightly. She didn't see him and she kneeled down and quickly picked up the clothes and shut the door. They looked like simple servant clothes. Laura put them on and walked out. She had to admit, they were a little itchy. She found Nald in the living room with a book.

They can read. The apes can read.

She really needed to stop being so surprised by everything but she just couldn't help it. Laura went and sat down next to him. "I need to know more about how to act if I'm going to be able to pull this off."

Nald seemed surprised but put down his book and continued from earlier, "You will have to call me master around other apes. Here you can call me Nald. You must always be respectful of other apes. You mustn't let them realize how you truly are."

Laura nodded and bit her lip. This was going to be harder than she thought. Sarcasm was going to be really hard to quit. This would be difficult, especially with the general and his commander. They had already seen how she truly was. Maybe it wouldn't matter, all she had to do was stay away from them and keep her mind focused on finding Leo and getting home. Still, in the back of her mind, she could still see Thade glaring in her direction and feel the anger radiating off him.

Yeah, this is gonna be really hard.

"It is getting late my dear, you should get some rest," Nald broke her out of her thoughts, "Come with me, I'll lead you to your bed."

Nald opened a door to reveal a cage door. Two doors. The inside looked like a normal bedroom, but the cage door told her all she needed to know. This was her cell. "Don't think too harshly of me, I tried to make it as homey as I could. But when others come over they must know that you are kept in a cage."

She did have a window, it had bars over it but she would still be able to see outside. Laura walked forward into the cage and told herself it was just another part of playing pretend. "You will only have to be in here at night to sleep. The rest of the day you will be out unless something occurs."

She couldn't stop herself from swinging around and glaring at him, "Why? Why are you treating me so differently from how all the other humans are treated?"

Nald didn't seem surprised by her question and he walked into the cage and sat on her bed. "My late wife was a human sympathizer. She believed that humans and apes could live in peace. I believed as she did, but I wasn't as convinced then as I am now. I knew when you spoke that if I left you there, they would have killed you. So I took you instead, not that it didn't fit with what I wanted. I was looking for a human anyway." He looked up at Laura with a sad smile. "My wife would have liked you. She always thought humans should speak up more. You and she would have been fast friends."

Well, now Laura just felt like a complete ass. She walked over and placed her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"How could you? Don't worry about it," Nald patted her hand and stood up, making his way to the door, "You get some rest, we will talk more in the morning."

With that, he closed both of the doors and left Laura alone. She sighed and ran her hand through her hair. "Well done Laura, would you like to make anyone else feel like shit tonight?"

She walked over to the bed and laid down. Tomorrow would be a new day, Laura was going to have to remember all that Nald had told her and put it into action. Who knew what would happen while she was there. "I swear Leo, your ass had better have landed here or I'm going to be pissed."


	5. The Market Incident

The sun streaming through the window was what woke Laura the next morning. She blinked and covered her eyes from the harsh rays with a loud groan. She was never very good when it came to mornings. Raising up slightly she stretched and let out a yawn. When she looked around, the first thing she noticed was that her doors were open.

Guessing that means Nald is awake.

Laura threw the covers off of herself and walked into the living room. Nald was sitting on the couch and across from him were the clothes he had bought yesterday all folded and ready for her. He seemed comfortable sitting and reading, she wondered if he had been waiting for her to get up. She looked back at the clothes and wondered if it would be okay to look them over.

"No need to be nervous, they are yours after all," Nald said not bothering to look up from his book, "Why don't you look through them and see what you think."

Laura nodded and sat beside Nald, carefully, she lifted every dress up and examined it. They were very beautiful and she tried to be careful while handling them. Looking them over she couldn't help but notice how expensive they felt. Glancing over at Nald she pondered how much he had spent on the garments.

"Nald, I don't think these were made for humans," Laura said turning to fully face him.

"Technically no, but you will notice there are a few other slaves who also dress in fine silks and fabrics. They also belong to senators and apes of power. They feel that their humans reflect on them. So they dress them according to their rank. The higher an ape rises, the more beautiful their slaves are dressed. Of course, when you are only working around the house then you shall wear normal servant clothes. But whenever you head out into public, you will be expected to wear one of those dresses."

Laura nodded and sat the garments down on the table when she noticed a box. The clothes had been placed on top of it so she hadn't noticed it before. She reached for it and lifted the lid. Laura swallowed hard when she saw what was within.

"A collar."

Nald finally looked up from his book and gave her a sad smile, "I know it will be hard for you, but you won't be able to leave the house without it." Laura noticed the designs engraved into it, "This collar will be one of the first things other apes will notice. It has the engravings to let them know you belong to me. You will not be harmed."

"Are humans usually hurt if they don't belong to an ape with power?"

Nald placed his hand on her shoulder in a comforting manner. "It has been known to happen. This place is dangerous for your kind. We must take every precaution."

"I thought you made a law where apes couldn't beat humans in public," Laura asked tilting her head slightly.

Nald gave a heavy sigh, "Yes, but there are hidden alcoves and alleyways where it can happen. But you should be safe with the collar. No one will harm you when they see you belong to me."

She took the collar into her hands and felt the weight of it.

Maybe I won't even notice it when it's on.

Knowing she was lying to herself she set the collar back down.

"Thank you, for the dresses, they are beautiful. But I can't thank you for that," She said looking away from the collar and back to Nald.

Nald chuckled and rose from his seat. "Well, I didn't expect you to thank me for that. But you are welcome for the dresses." He went into the dining room and came back quickly with a piece of paper. "Your breakfast is in the kitchen. Afterward, I need you to go out and pick up some fruit. Everything I need is written down here."

She took the paper and looked it over. "Do you remember the fruit merchant we saw on our way here?" Laura nodded. "When you get to him, just hand him this and he will get you everything you need."

"Alright, I'm sure I can handle that."

He smiled and headed for the door. "I'm sure you can, just remember the rules. I need to head out and get to work. Be careful out there, 'Dahlia'," With that, he left her alone in the house.

Right, I'm really gonna have to get used to that name, or I'm gonna fuck things up royally.

Laura ate quickly and got dressed in one of her new dresses. It was a soft yellow dress that fell just above her feet and the sleeves fell off her shoulders but the straps kept it in place nicely. It really was quite beautiful. She let out a loud sigh as she looked back over at the table, at the collar sitting there. Laura picked it up and put it on quickly. Trying to do it without thinking of what it meant.

Leaving the house she walked along the small trail until she came back to the market. It was just as busy as yesterday, everyone crowded in and looking for the things they needed. Now that she knew what to look for she noticed a few other humans dressed in silks and nice materials getting things at the shops. Their collars were engraved like hers, but they each had different designs.

She quickly found the fruit stall and made her way over to it. The stall vendor was an older chimp, who was loudly yelling into the crowd for apes to come and check out his wares. When she stopped in front of his stand he barely looked at her. That annoyed her a bit, so she cleared her throat loudly to get his attention. He snapped his eyes to her and looked like he was about to yell at her until he noticed her collar. "My, my, you must be senator Nald's new human. I had heard of you but almost took it as just a rumor. What can I help him with?"

How in the world does he know about me already?

Laura handed the chimp the note and he quickly got to work putting the things into a bag for her. She really didn't like this chimp. He seemed sleazy, and ill-mannered unless you were part of the right household. Suddenly she heard the sound of hoofbeats and she turned just in time to see horses stop right in front of her. Sitting on top of the large beasts were the General and his Commander. They didn't seem to notice her as they looked over the market. They were talking about guard postings. Nothing very interesting.

They hadn't seemed to notice her but that didn't really surprise her. They probably barely ever paid any attention to human slaves. Laura bit the inside of her cheek and tried to focus on the fact that she wasn't supposed to engage and keep herself from saying anything.

But he'll get all uppity and you can really push his buttons!

No, I'm supposed to stay away from him and keep on the down-low till I find Leo.

With Nald as your master though, he can't kill you or anything. He would be risking a lot.

I still don't think it's a good idea! He's the General of the ape army!

But just imagine the look on his face.

"Good morning General, you seem to be doing well," She made sure to make it loud enough for him to hear. She swore she heard the fruit seller stop in his tracks to watch the exchange.

The general snapped his attention down towards her and she was met with a nasty glare.

"You shouldn't be speaking to your betters human," Attar snapped at her, "It could get you killed."

Laura raised her eyebrows and made a dramatic display of looking around the horses and behind her. "My name is Dahlia, not human, and it's a good thing there is no one I consider my better around then."

Faster than she was expecting, the general was off his horse and standing in front of her, right in her face. "If I had my way, you wouldn't be allowed to walk around here on your own human."

Laura glared right back and gave a devious smirk before replying, "No, if you had your way, I would be crawling at your feet." He gave a deep growl as a response and she smiled. "Imagining it, are we?"

She was slammed against the stand, his hand wrapped tightly around her throat. The fruit seller let out a yelp and hid under his counter.

Fucking coward!

Thade's eyes wandered from her face down to the collar she wore and moved his hand to grip onto it. "I see your master collared you, maybe he should have muzzled you as well!" Laura stared back at him in defiance and gripped onto his wrist, his comment stinging her. Thinking quickly she realized his body was right up against hers and it made her realize the predicament they were both in. Laura smiled and ran her thumb over his hand. He snapped his attention to her motion, and then looked back up at her. She raised her eyebrows, almost as if to say, 'I didn't know you felt this way'.

"General, she belongs to Senator Nald if you kill her he isn't going to be pleased," Attar stated dragging them both out of the moment.

With a loud huff, he released Laura and stepped away. Once he had moved away from her, Laura realized how fast her heart had been beating in her chest. Still, she smirked at Thade and chuckled, "Am I the only human you shower with your attention?"

He slammed his hands on either side of her and got close enough to whisper in her ear. "There will be a moment when you are alone human, and when you are, you will wish you didn't draw my attention at all."

That made a shiver crawl down her spine and she nearly lost her nerve. But she refused to let him think he intimidated her. When he was back on his horse, Laura calmly remarked, "I'll be waiting, Thade."

Without a reply, he tapped on his horse and both he and Attar rode away. Laura felt her knees weaken and she had to keep a tight grip on the fruit stand to keep her balance.

What the hell have I started here?

"You must be the craziest human I've ever seen." She realized it was the fruit seller who spoke. "No human has ever spoken to the General that way, not if they wanted to keep living. Whatever he threatened you with, you better know he means it."

She tried to play it cool as she placed her hand on her collar and fixed it. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure he does."

Why do I let myself talk myself into dangerous situations?

After she got the bags of fruit, she headed back towards the house. Lucky for her there were no surprises. She had to admit she was going to feel a bit paranoid for a while. Although she felt like she had won that little exchange she knew she had also put her life on the line.

I'm gonna have to be careful from now on, and not let myself get into any more trouble involving him.

Yeah, that's not gonna happen. We both know you are gonna push his buttons every time he is around. Might as well get used to death threats.

Laura let out a heavy sigh and dropped her head knowing her inner voice was most likely right.

Once she was back she put the groceries on the table and walked to the bathroom to look in the mirror. Laura seemed to be alright after the encounter, but she swore she could still feel his hand wrapped around her throat. Maybe it was because of the collar. Laura took it off and placed it on her dresser back in her room. As she was heading back to the living room she started to hum to herself as she started putting the fruits away.

Still humming she started to move to the tune until she was lost in the rhythm. Everything seemed to melt away and she was back in her room aboard the Oberon. She almost expected to look up and see Leo snickering at her from across the room. Laura was snapped out of it when she heard the door suddenly slam open. Everything was back to reality and she realized the slamming had been made by the Senator.

Nald rushed over to her and started to look her over, "Are you alright?! Did he hurt you in any way?!" He was speaking so quickly she almost didn't realize what he meant. "How dare he touch you, he thinks he can just do whatever he pleases!"

"Nald!" That seemed to get his attention and she smiled at him. "I'm fine, he just shook me up a bit." His attention seemed to snap towards her throat and he started to inspect it. How did he even know what happened? There was no way the General or Attar would tell him.

"When the fruit merchant sent the message I thought Thade might have seriously harmed you." That caught Laura by surprise until she realized why he would do it.

Probably thought he would get some reward or something. Sleazy little chimp.

"Are you really alright?"

Laura thought it was sweet how he cared about her but it also seemed a little odd. Maybe he simply felt responsible for her after he saved her. "Yes, I promise."

He let out a sigh of relief and then glared towards the door. "If he ever comes near you again, I will make sure he pays for it! I will not have him ignoring my authority just because he doesn't agree with how I use it!"

That's what this was truly about, Thade had disrespected him. Trying to harm her was also seen to Nald as Thade ignoring the power the Senator possessed. While she was annoyed at how it felt like Nald was basically calling her his property, it also gave her a bit of relief. If Thade did try to make good on his threats, she would have a reason for him to not go through with it.

Since Nald was home, they had dinner together. Nald kept shifting his gaze to her neck like there was something there. Laura tried to keep his attention on other things. She talked about seeing others like her in the market and asked about what he had done that day. Finally, seeing as how he was still feeling upset, she gave up and decided to head outside for some fresh air. Laura stepped outside onto the wrap around porch and took a seat at a small table to the side of the door.

"You must be Nald's new human."

Laura jumped slightly at the voice as she hadn't noticed anyone walk through the opening towards the house. Looking down towards the voice she saw a female chimp standing at the base of the stairs. She was wearing a loose-fitting shirt along with loose-fitting pants. Her hair was cut in a bob and the ape seemed to have a soft smirk on her lips.

"Yes, my name is Dahlia. You are?"

"My name is Ari, I'm the daughter of Senator Sandar. Do you mind if I join you?"

The female ape seemed nice enough. Laura nodded and watched as she climbed up the stairs and sat across from her. Ari let out a sigh, "I heard about what happened in the marketplace. Thade can be cruel, you must be careful around him."

What is with every ape knowing each other's business, is there a news bulletin I don't know about?

Laura looked over at her and placed her chin in her hands, "What do you know about him, Ari?"

Ari seemed surprised by the question but still, she replied, "I've known him since we were children. His father filled him with hatred from the start. He's never been kind to your people. He used to get mad at me for taking in stray humans. I didn't care, I think humans are capable of just about everything that we are. You just need a chance to prove it."

Laura smiled at the chimp female, "I think you and me are gonna be good friends Ari."

"I hope so."

"Ari, what are you doing here? Did your father send you," Nald had appeared at the doorway of the house and was smiling at them both?

"I came to deliver a message and because I wanted to meet Dahlia," Ari stood and headed over to the Senator, "My father, along with the other Senators have decided it is time for the annual political gala. There will be dancing, food, drinks, and lots of talking about politics. Boring stuff really."

"Except for the food and drink part," Laura piped in with a chuckle.

"Yes except for that part."

"When will it be taking place this time Ari," Nald asked after giving a side glance to Laura.

"Oh, it will take a few days. Everyone has to get everything set up and people have to be invited," Ari replied leaning against the railing of the porch.

The Senator seemed to think it over before looking at Laura and then back to Ari. "You can tell your father that we will make sure to be there."

We? Does he mean me too?

Laura almost wanted to laugh out loud at that. Her, at a party filled with apes. No not just apes, but apes that actually held powerful positions. Ari seemed to like the idea of Laura coming. She seemed to brighten up more about the gala. Laura could tell she was really going to enjoy her company. Hopefully, having a friend in this strange place was in her near future.


	6. Dangerous Encounters

"Ari, can you pass the pears?" Laura asked the female chimp. After last night, Ari had invited Laura to her place for dinner. Her father's house was much bigger than Nald's, which made sense because he had Ari and several servants. His house was placed right up against the rocky mountainside and held aloft by a large tree underneath. Plants and smaller trees decorated the inside and Laura couldn't help but see it as a very calming space. When she had arrived a few human servants had served them various fruits along with refreshments. It was nice to see how kind Ari was to her servants, asking them how their day had been and if everything was alright. Laura had yet to meet Senator Sandar though. Ari had told her he was very busy with getting things ready for the gala. It would seem she may have to wait until the event to meet him.

Ari passed the pears and Laura looked through them before picking out a juicy one and taking a bite. "You seem very different from the humans I've met so far."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Laura replied with a big grin. Ari chuckled as a response and placed her chin in her hands. Not wanting to stay on that topic Laura quickly changed the subject. "So tell me, what will this gala be like?"

"I guess calling it a gala isn't really a correct term for it. It's mostly a way for the Senators to appease the population. The ones invited will get a chance to speak to the Senators and tell them their opinions on how things should be. The senators can choose to listen or not. Usually, they go based on numbers, whichever opinion they hear the most of they will take into consideration. It's their way of making the general population think they have a say in what happens around them. The truth is, the Senators just do as they please and the rest fall in line."

Laura looked up and noticed how Ari's jaw had tightened in anger but her eyes seemed lit with a certain kind of sadness. The way things were really seemed to bother her, it was obvious she wanted things to be better not only for humans but for other apes as well. It made Laura feel like she could truly trust Ari, she wanted to tell her everything. Still, something stopped her. Laura may have wanted to trust her, but she had still only just met her. Time would tell if she should take that chance or not.

"What is the general opinion, Ari?"

The young ape shook her head and sighed, "General Thade and some of the other Senators have done their best to spread fear of the humans among the common people. Senator Nald has done his best to curb the damage of their words, but there's only so much he can do."

Laura thought hard and placed her finished pear on her plate. "Then maybe, we need to change the common ape's opinion of my people."

Ari looked up at her and raised her brows, "I don't know how you think you can manage to achieve that, as well as go up against the Senators."

"Well, truthfully we don't really need to change their opinion completely, but we could try and make them start to doubt," She ran her hand through her hair and leaned back in her seat. "From what you're telling me, it doesn't sound very promising, doesn't mean we shouldn't try though."

A heavy thump from the balcony drew Ari's attention and Laura quickly averted her gaze to the dining room tabletop. If this was Senator Sandar she didn't want to insult him in any way. According to Ari, her father was slowly starting to come around to her views and Laura didn't want to ruin that by accidentally insulting him.

"Why am I not surprised to find **her** here." The voice was gravelly and it made Laura smile as she realized right away who it was and she turned to face the balcony.

"Thade, there is a door," Ari said, her voice cool as ice as she stood up from the table. It almost looked like Ari was trying to shield Laura from his view. The protective gesture made Laura's heart swell.

"What is that human doing here Ari?" He demanded, his gaze shifting from her to Laura.

"I invited her, she is my guest," Ari replied crossing her arms. "Though I fail to see how its any of your business." Laura didn't hide her chuckle at how well Ari was standing her ground. It reminded her of herself.

Thade narrowed his eyes and growled a warning, "She's rabid Ari, She'll be a bad influence on you."

"You can speak to me directly you know," Laura snapped, finally deciding to cut in. She crossed her legs and got comfortable, "Then again, I guess you could always speak to me at the gala. It seems my master is insisting that I attend with him."

His gaze landed back on her and he took a step closer. "Your kind doesn't belong there human. Our laws and politics don't concern you. The sooner the Senators come to their senses and allow me to exterminate your filth the better."

"Aw, you wound me," Laura replied mockingly as she placed her hand over her heart, "I thought after our lovely Incident in the market you would have seen my charms by now. Especially when you pushed up against me, and in public no less."

The look of pure hatred that came over his face was enough to make Laura feel empowered. He looked like he was gonna launch himself at her, but Ari stepped between them and kept her gaze locked on the General. "What are you doing here Thade? You must have some business."

With a huff of annoyance, he turned his gaze to the floor and let out a deep breath. Laura watched as some of the tension left his shoulders and his fists unclenched. Once he seemed to have his anger in check he replied, "I need to speak with your father, I thought he would be here."

"He's out, he's been very busy with the gala. You can find him elsewhere. I'll tell him you stopped by." Ari was hoping that would suffice. He let out a grunt and cast a last glaring look at Laura, which she took as an opportunity to wink at him. His eyes narrowed but he turned and jumped off the balcony.

Once he was gone Ari turned to face her with a shocked expression, "Do you have any idea how much danger you are in right now," She sat back down and placed a hand over Laura's, "He will not rest until you pay for his humiliation."

Laura didn't doubt her, but she had an ace up her sleeve and for now, she was gonna enjoy messing with him. Yet deep in the recesses of her mind she couldn't help but wonder why. Why was she taking this kind of risk? Her life was at stake here, he could kill her, and yes it would possibly mean his downfall but she would be dead, what would it even matter to her? Yet messing with him gave her more pleasure than when she messed with other people of authority. Maybe it was the escalated risk, or maybe it was something else she hadn't even realized yet.

Only time will tell. She thought to herself as she took a sip from her glass.

Once it started to get dark Laura decided it was time to head back home. "Are you sure you don't want me to walk you? What if something happens to you," Ari asked looking out the door with worry written all over her face. Once again she felt a warm fuzzy feeling for the sweet ape girl.

"Ari, I'll be fine. I'm sure the guards will keep the Senator's 'property' safe enough on her way back to him," Laura replied rolling her eyes at the notion of her being anybody's property. She then walked down the stairs and through the dark city. The guards were on patrol and there were few other apes or humans out at this time of night. But when she got further into the city she started to feel eyes following her. Looking around she didn't see anyone but she could definitely feel them as the hair on the back of her neck stood up.

She rubbed the back of her neck and continued on her way. Until she heard something and she stopped completely. Whoever it was, they felt close, much too close for comfort.

"Human!"

Laura felt herself jump at the words and gasped loudly. Looking behind her she realized it was just one of the guards heading towards her. "Do you have a reason for being out this late and without your handler?"

She let out a sigh of relief and did as Nald told her to do if anyone stopped her. Laura lifted her head up and let the guard get a get look at her collar. Once he saw the engravings on it he immediately nodded his head and waved her along, "Get back to your master quickly human, these streets aren't always safe for your kind."

"Of course, I'll get back as quickly as possible." She replied politely before heading back down the road and towards Nald's. After the encounter, she couldn't feel eyes on her anymore. Her nervousness vanished and she told herself it had just been her mind playing tricks on her.

They should really put bells on those guards though. He nearly gave me a damn heart attack!

When she was back home she noticed Nald at the table doing some paperwork. He looked up and acknowledged her before returning to looking at his papers. "How was your visit?"

Laura walked over and sat down across from him. "It was good, nothing really exciting, we mostly talked about the gala."

The next day Nald informed her that he was heading into the marketplace to pick out her gala dress, and wanted to know if she cared to join him. She agreed happily and changed into one of her fine dresses while also donning her collar. While Laura was a bit excited about the event she was also nervous. How could she change the minds of apes that didn't even know her? It was going to take some real finesse.

Yeah, and I'm so damn good at that.

Once they arrived at the stalls, Nald turned to her, "Why don't you look around while I find something nice for you. I'm sure there's plenty here to entertain you. Just keep your wits about you, and if you run into any trouble make sure they get a good look at your collar."

While Laura was thinking of protesting, the thought passed through her mind that she might be able to catch a glimpse of Leo if he were there. She nodded at her master and walked in a random direction. For a while, she was optimistic about her search but all she found were servants and other apes. While trying to navigate through the crowd, she kept getting pushed and stepped on. So when she saw an empty alleyway she dove for it and looked through the other side. Looking through the vast amount of apes and humans she still couldn't see any trace of Leo at all. Laura swallowed hard and tried to keep her faith alive, she would find him, it would just take time. This was a pretty large city after all. Just as she was about to take a step out she felt someone grab her by the back of the neck and pull her back into the alleyway.

Laura let out a yelp of surprise and felt the air escape her lungs when her back hit the rock wall behind her. There was a hand pressed against her mouth and a dagger pressed against her throat. The general was looking down at her with a smug look and growled in her ear, "You should have stayed by your master's side human, maybe he should have kept you on a leash." Laura felt her heart racing in her chest and tried to stay calm. "What? No smart remark?" He pressed the dagger closer to her neck.

Oh, come on Laura why don't you just show him your collar!? She thought sarcastically.

Laura closed her eyes briefly from the feel of the metal against her skin and felt her whole body shutter. Adrenaline shot through her and her breathing became rapid. Still, she looked at him with nothing but defiance, she refused to let him know that she was afraid of him. Thade stared at her for a moment through slit eyes before removing the knife from her neck. He replaced it by wrapping his hand around her throat.

She knew she couldn't really talk with his hand over her mouth, which made the situation even worse since she couldn't use the only ace she had against him. Somehow she was going to have to get him to remove it. The thought of just licking his hand came to mind, but when she went to do it she noticed that Thade wasn't even paying attention to her. His eyes were downcast and aside from his hand at her throat and the other at her mouth, It was like she wasn't even there. His hand was applying pressure to her throat but not near enough to cut off the flow of oxygen. It was more like he was waiting for something.

When Thade suddenly looked back up into her eyes he seemed pleased with himself. "You can try and act brave all you want, but your heartbeat gives you away," He snarled at her and gripped her throat tighter, "You're afraid."

Well, no fucking shit! Who wouldn't be afraid of being dragged into an alleyway with a knife pressed against their throat?

There was no time for her to roll her eyes at him, she needed to get his hand away from her mouth. Frantically she reached for his wrist and tried to pull his hand away, but Thade only huffed at her in annoyance. He was much stronger than her, and he knew it. So it came down to only one choice. With an annoyed glare, she stopped fighting him, and her arms fell back to her sides. Thade gave her a suspicious look before his eyes suddenly went wide and he pulled back his hand from her mouth with a yelp. Laura had bit the palm of his hand. She tried to keep the laugh from coming out of her mouth but failed horribly.

The rage in his eyes when he looked back at her knocked the smile off her face. Thade pulled his dagger out of his holster and started to come at her as he spat at her, "You shouldn't have done that human."

Slowly, Laura started sliding to the side, keeping her back against the wall. "You shouldn't be trying to kill me when you would be the number one suspect."

The General stopped in his tracks and glared at her. "What are you talking about?"

"Come on Thade, you really think you can threaten me in public and nobody is going to tell Nald about it? The fruit vendor told my master everything, and he wasn't very happy about it," Laura replied crossing her arms over her chest, "If you kill me here, Nald will know it was you. I don't know what he would do to you, but it probably wouldn't be pretty."

Thade turned his gaze away from her and was quietly seething to himself. She could see his chest rising and falling quickly and his fists clenching and unclenching. Laura sighed and uncrossed her arms. "Look, I don't think it's just about me. You are ignoring the fact that he's a Senator. I'm his 'property', you can't threaten me without it feeling like you are threatening him."

He let out a growl of annoyance and turned back to her. "Why warn me? Afraid to die just to punish me?"

Laura wanted to laugh at him for a moment, "I knew it could save my life if you came for me. Don't think you are so important that ruining you would be worth my life," She explained as she moved away from the wall and wiped at the dirt on her dress, hoping to herself that it wouldn't stain the fabric.

"I have never met a human as frustrating as you are," Thade growled, and Laura merely looked back up at him with a smile.

"Well, that's because you've never met a human like me General."

Thade clenched his jaw and fought the urge to launch himself at her and break her neck. Laura, of course, noticed the sound of his teeth grinding together and grew a devilish smirk. "Come on now don't take it so hard. I do so love our little get-togethers, don't you?"

That did it, as Thade charged at her and gripped her by the front of her dress, pulling her body up against his and his face close to hers. "Shut up human, or I'll shut you up myself," He snapped at her.

Laura wasn't impressed with his empty threat, but still, she felt her pulse quicken from how close they were to each other. Her eyes met his and for a moment she froze. The way he was looking at her it almost seemed like he was trying to figure her out. She swallowed hard and felt her hands grow clammy. Thade suddenly seemed to register that she was looking back at him but to her surprise, he didn't push her away. Laura could feel a strange tension bubbling between them and she felt herself bite her lip. Her eyes wandered down to his mouth, "Oh, I wish you would."

His brow furrowed like he was trying to understand her words before his eyes grew large and he shoved her away from him. "You're disgusting," He said through clenched teeth and he didn't make eye contact with her. For a split moment, she wondered if he was even speaking to her or to himself.

Laura was surprised herself, she hadn't even been thinking when the words had left her mouth. Maybe she just couldn't stand the tension and she knew those words would get him to back away. She felt herself bite the inside of her cheek, and she chuckled to herself. There was a different thought that crossed her mind but she refused to acknowledge it right now.

"I need you to take me back to Nald."

Thade narrowed his eyes at her and tilted his head. "Why would I do that? I doubt your master wants to see me anywhere near you."

"You will take me back to Nald, and I will explain how I got lost. You found me and as a way of apology to my master, you brought me back to him," She explained as she started to head back towards the end of the alleyway.

Thade growled in his throat but still came up behind her and roughly snagged her wrist causing Laura to flinch. She watched as he smirked at her pain.

Dick bag.

He led her out of the alleyway and pulled her into the market place. "I last saw him at the silk stall," Laura directed him when he turned to her. He then pulled her after him and it bothered her how many apes stopped to stare. They probably thought she was in some kind of trouble, she noticed as a few of the apes even chuckled at the sight. They probably thought he was going to kill her and they found that prospect amusing. Laura felt her stomach churn.

They found Nald a few stalls down from the silks, he was looking over a jewelry stall when they approached. The minute he caught sight of them rage replaced the easy smile he had. "What is this?! You will release her-"

Before the senator could continue Laura stepped between them and stopped Nald in his tracks. "It wasn't his fault, it was mine!"

Nald seemed surprised and came closer pulling her away from the general and close to his side. "Tell me what happened Dahlia."

Laura laid her eyes on Thade before turning towards her 'master' and giving him a convincing smile. "I got lost in the alleyways, I thought I knew the market better than I really do. If he hadn't found me, who knows how long I would have been lost. He knew you would be worried and so he brought me back to you safely."

Nald seemed to think about her words and look her over before turning to Thade. "Is this true general?"

Thade looked over at Laura before replying to Nald, "The alleyways are dangerous Senator, you should keep a closer eye on her in the future."

"Thank you for returning her to me. Maybe I was wrong to assume," Nald said with a strained voice. Laura was close enough to hear his teeth grind together. He really didn't like Thade, and she wondered to herself why. It seemed a lot deeper than just being about her or his authority.

He still didn't seem to trust the General, but it looked like things were better then they had been. "Come along Dahlia, I found what we came for." Laura nodded and watched as her 'master' turned and started towards the way home.

When she went to follow after him she felt Thade grab her wrist again and she turned back towards him. "I don't know what kind of game you're playing-"

"That's exactly it though General, It is a game," Laura said cutting him off and pulling her arm back away from him, "A game I intend to win."


	7. Tourist

Just as Nald had promised he got someone to show Laura around the city; it turned out Ari had been happy to volunteer. Since she had already seen enough of the marketplace, Ari was planning on showing her the different paths leaving the market and where they led. As they moved Ari pointed out some of the stalls Laura hadn't seen before, including one that sold books, one that sold spices and different types of tea, and finally one of her favorites, one that sold different varieties of soaps. Laura guessed they were mostly for humans of wealthy masters; She knew enough about apes to know they were frightened of water, seeing as how they couldn't swim.

A warm breeze was blowing that day, and as it blew past and ran through Laura's hair she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. As she breathed out a small smile tugged on her lips. The one thing she did like about this place was that it was surrounded by trees and plants. Even the rock walls around them had moss or vines creeping over them and dangling down towards the jungle floor. If the city wasn't so full of hate and prejudice she might actually enjoy living here. Her smile diminished and her eyes lowered.

Mom would have loved it here too.

"Dahlia, are you alright?"

Her eyes raised back up to see Ari, who had stopped in her tracks and was now looking her over with concern. Laura nodded her head and smirked at her friend, the raise of Ari's brow indicated she didn't completely believe Laura, but she let it go for now.

"Well as I was saying, the gala is going to be held at the senatorial chambers. It's a large building meant to hold a vast group of apes. My father and the other senators are there now making sure all the arrangements are perfect."

"So where is this huge building then?"

Ari turned to her and pointed up into the sky. Laura slowly followed the female's gesture up into the trees and felt her breath catch in her throat. Up at the very top of a cliff that many of the ape's homes were built into sat a huge building. It was placed on the flat edge of the cliff, and all she could make out was a large balcony built into the side of the building. Laura found herself to be in awe.

How am I supposed to get up there?

Her eyes slowly ran down the cliff and noticed stairs were etched into the cliff face, leading all the way up to the building.

Yeah, that looks perfectly safe.

"Don't let the size of it intimidate you, it won't seem as large when we're inside," Ari told her as she looked up at it with an expression close to that of boredom.

Laura crossed her arms and tilted her head to the side, "Not very impressed with it are you?"

Ari looked back at Laura and shrugged her shoulders, "Is it that easy to tell? The building itself represents what's wrong with us all. The building never needed to be that big, but they made sure it was. My people keep having issues with humans, but the truth is our people keep expanding our territory and it's going straight through what little the humans have," She sighs in annoyance, "They blame it on humans expanding their numbers, but how can that be when our soldiers keep murdering all the villages that set up too close or throw them into chains?"

Laura felt her eyebrows raise and her eyes widened, "You're telling me they murder entire villages for getting too close to the city?"

"The army is worried that if they are too close they could be planning some kind of raid on the city, so they do their best to keep them far away."

"You mean Thade is worried," Laura stated as she rolled her eyes at the amount of paranoia the general had. The humans that she had seen before she got captured had all seemed to be trying to get away from the apes, not fighting them. It was likely because they knew they didn't really stand any chance against them.

The truth was evident, Thade was a murderer. A paranoid murderer of who knows how many men, women, maybe even children. Her mind snapped back to that alleyway, he was fully capable of killing her. If she hadn't been able to tell him about Nald's suspicion if she died, he probably would have. But when he had pulled her up against him, he didn't seem like he was thinking of killing her, he looked like he was curious about her. It was clear he hated her and wanted to see her dead, but he also wanted to figure her out. Then there was that tension, it almost felt like a small fire burning under her skin. Laura didn't know what it meant, but a part of her wanted to find out.

He's a murderer, I should stay away from him. The minute he finds a way to kill me with no repercussions to himself, he will.

Ari didn't respond to her but began walking back towards the marketplace, and Laura followed closely behind. Taking one last look over her shoulder at the senatorial building, she too seemed to have lost the awe she had over the building, instead, she felt nothing but disdain.

Moving down through another path leading from the marketplace Laura started to feel a bit uneasy. As they walked she started to notice more and more apes stopping and staring at her as she went. The dirt path suddenly changed to stone and Laura almost tripped from not paying attention. Bamboo grew on both sides of the path and it seemed to put her at ease. At the end of the path, it opened into a small area with only one building. It wasn't very small but nowhere near as huge as the senatorial building. From where she was standing she could smell incense and see candles being lit inside. As she tried to step forward Ari held out an arm to stop her.

"This is the temple of Semos, it's a holy place for my people. No humans are allowed too close," Ari stated lowering her arm back to her side.

Laura's eyes ran over the temple and the apes that were mulling around outside it. Some of them seemed to be glaring in her direction, others seemed to ignore her presence completely. Back inside the temple, she could see an orangutang dressed in extravagant robes quietly speaking to a number of apes. The whispers seemed to get louder and more aggressive as they looked over to where Laura stood.

"Who is Semos," Laura asked her eyes narrowing at the group of whisperers.

Ari seemed very indifferent as she replied, "He is said to be the first ape, according to our holy writings. The almighty breathed life into him at the holy site known as Calima. They believe that one day he shall return to us there."

Laura glanced over at her before returning her gaze to the ape in the brightly colored robes, "You believe that?"

With a slight shake of her head, Ari replied, "It just seems too much like a fairytale to me."

Before Laura could reply she felt a chill run down her spine and she quickly turned around. There was no one behind them and besides the looks, she was getting before, there was nothing else out of the ordinary. Scanning the path and the bamboo on the sides, there was still no sign of anyone, but she could have sworn that someone was watching her.

"We should head back, more to show you," Ari said suddenly grabbing Laura and trying to pull her back down the path.

"Wait, wha-"

"ARI!"

At the sound of her name, Ari stopped in her tracks and sighed heavily, "Damn it."

Looking past Ari, Laura noticed the orangutang in the robes heading in their direction. She didn't know why but she started to feel her anxiety rise. Just looking at this ape told her he was important and she needed to be careful around him. When the ape reached them Laura did her best to keep her eyes down and make herself seem small.

"High Priest Marcus, It's a pleasure to see you," Ari exclaimed with a big, fake smile.

Hearing the title of the ape Laura felt her eyes grow huge and snap up to his face. The high priest was a pretty portly ape, which wasn't surprising since he was an orangutang, but it did help him seem intimidating. He was looking down at Ari through slit dark green eyes and a scowl.

"Ari, it's bad enough you denounce Semos, do you now find it amusing to defile the temple by bringing a human here," The high priest hissed through clenched teeth, before looking down at Laura, "Avert your eyes filth, you do not belong here."

Laura felt her face go red and she bit the inside of her cheek. While all she wanted was to snap at him and give him a piece of her mind, the look in his eyes made her stop. His eyes were empty, and it actually scared her. Whenever she had faced Thade he had always let some kind of emotion rule his actions, it made it easy to read him. This ape though, there was nothing, and it unnerved her. Ari must have sensed this as she quickly started leading Laura away from the temple.

"Calm yourself, Marcus, you might give yourself an ulcer. We were just leaving."

The high priest glared after them as they walked back down the path. Once they were far enough away Laura gently pried off Ari's hand from her arm.

"What the hell was that about?!"

Ari rubbed her arm sheepishly and gave Laura a sad smile, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have taken you there. I just thought you would be interested in learning more about us. I didn't even stop and think about the fact that Marcus would be there."

Laura lowered her brows and crossed her arms, "Ari, I've been around hate for my kind, true that it's mostly been Thade who is mostly driven by some powerful paranoia, but I've been around it. That ape though, he was different, he looked at me and it was like a void," Without even realizing it she had begun to rub her arms like she was trying to get rid of a sudden chill.

"Listen to me Dahlia, the army may be powerful, but the church is just as powerful as the senate; If not more," Ari told her placing her hand against Laura's back and continuing to lead her away, "Stay away from Marcus, This thing you have going on with Thade is one thing, but please don't tempt fate like this."

Although Laura was willing to agree with Ari on this, if their plan was to change things for the better for humans, it was only a matter of time before they came head to head with the high priest.

"Alright, but please don't call it a thing with Thade, it just makes it sound dirty."

She could hear Ari chuckling beside her.

After Ari showed Laura the ape and human clinic, which were, of course, separate, she decided to lead her into another large area, which they reached by going through an opening in the cliff. Inside was a group of chimps and gorillas all wearing armor and Laura felt her eyes widen and her mouth drop open. It looked like they were going through training maneuvers, and at the head of the group yelling out orders was Attar. Ari pulled Laura behind a large tree to keep them both hidden. The area was very big, big enough for way more troops than Laura was seeing now, it made her wonder how large the ape army really was.

If Attar is here, then maybe that means Thade is as well.

"Dahlia."

I don't see him anywhere though.

"Dahlia!"

Oh shit right, that's my name!

Laura snapped her attention back to Ari, "What? What did I miss?"

Ari was looking at her with a mischievous smile before replying, "I was just letting you know that General Attar is actually a very heavy believer in Semos, but you seemed to be busy looking for someone."

Laura quickly changed the subject by looking away from Ari and back at the troops, "So this is where the army trains then?"

While it didn't seem like Ari wanted to drop the subject she did answer the question. "They go through maneuvers out here, the training room is actually inside," Ari pointed towards a door on the other side of the troops.

Laura knew Ari wanted to ask about what was going on between Thade and her, but she really didn't want to involve her in it. If Ari knew how much she enjoyed toying with him she might get the wrong idea.

Or maybe the right one. A part of her mind whispered to her which she was quick to ignore.

Suddenly she felt a tingle go down her spine and she quickly looked around herself again.

"Dahlia, you okay?"

"I swear I keep feeling someone watching me, but every time I look I don't notice anyone. This isn't the first time, I felt it back at the temple too, and I swore I felt it when I was heading home from your house the other day, but then a guard called out to me and the feeling disappeared. I thought it was just my mind playing tricks on me, but now I'm not so sure," Laura explained to her, "Maybe I'm just tired."

Ari nodded and took Laura's hand and they both snuck out of the area and back towards the marketplace. "Well it is getting late, let's get you back home and call it a night."

Laura agreed and followed Ari back to Nald's home, and once they made it Laura thanked Ari for all her help and the new information on the city. When she was back inside the house she let out a loud groan. This place was basically hell for her kind and she was there trying to make some kind of difference while also trying to find Leo and playing a game of cat and mouse with the general. Not to mention how she felt like she was being watched wherever she went.

Feeling like her body was a lot heavier than normal, she flung herself onto the couch to rest. How had she managed to put so much on her shoulders when she hadn't even been there that long?

Not to mention you still have to get yourself prepared for the gala.

Rolling her eyes she let out an even louder groan of annoyance; She placed a pillow over her face and tried to forget about the world outside.


	8. Strong Advice and Getting Ready

The morning was quiet as Laura laid in bed trying to will herself to get up. Tonight was the night and she could already feel her nerves creeping into her gut. Last night as she and Ari had walked back to Nald's home Ari told her what she would need to know about the senators who would be at the gala. Senator Nado was an older orangutang whose views went along with his cruel wife. They thought humans were a plague on their civilization and needed to be taken care of. His wife, Nova, because she found them to be horrible creatures, and Nado for more political reasons.

The chimp senator Rem's views were on the fence. He seemed to be going back and forth on the issue. It was going to be hard to change his views and keep them that way, especially when it all came down to the general senate opinion. Then came another gorilla senator, whose name was Horus, whose views were that the humans had no art or culture, so he didn't see why they deserved to be treated any better than common animals.

And finally came Ari's father Sandar, who according to Ari held the most power, he seemed a bit complicated to her. He had known Thade since the general was a child, and his father was an old friend of his, and yet he also wanted to understand his daughter's views on humans. He could be more difficult, especially since he was being pulled in two different directions by people he cared about.

Laura wasn't sure how she was supposed to handle this kind of situation, she was no politician. Plus she had doubts that anyone was going to be happy to see a human at a political event. Still, she had to try, Ari and Nald were counting on her. To be honest she was a bit overcome with how much Nald had placed on her shoulders. He didn't have to bring her to this gala, and he must have some kind of agenda. He told her nothing about it, but there must have been some kind of reason. She planned on getting answers from him before they left.

Finally, she got up and went to the bathroom and bathed herself. Ari was nice enough to buy her some smelling soaps from the marketplace and she was actually excited to use them. She took a big whiff of one and smiled to herself; It smelled of lavender and honey. The warm water and the flowery scent was actually calming her nerves.

I can do this, Hell, I **will** do this!

Feeling surer of herself she got out of the tub and dressed quickly. She had yet to see the dress Nald had gotten for her. He had told her he wanted it to be a surprise. So Laura had decided to spend her day reading some of the books that Nald had. Sitting outside in the sun with a glass of water and reading his books, she suddenly felt eyes on her again. When she looked out, she realized the guards who usually kept watch over the senator's house, weren't there. Laura put the book down and stood up.

Nothing, they were gone. Maybe they were going to be getting ready for the party as well. They were surely going to need some guards there. Still, she felt eyes on her and a tingle went down her spine. Laura turned to go back into the house and she nearly ran right into the general. She felt herself jump and let out a small squeal. When she realized it was him she fell back into the chair with a sigh and ran her hand through her hair.

"You scared the shit out of me, what are you doing sneaking up on me like that," She snapped placing a hand over heart and trying to calm herself. Laura wasn't really expecting an answer from him and glared when he let out a smug huff. She watched as he walked around her, his eyes never leaving her. Laura felt like something was off, so she kept her eyes on him as well.

"Is the senator still bringing you?"

"Yes, he already bought me a dress for the event, it's why we were in the marketplace the other day," She eyed him suspiciously. They had never had a normal conversation before so she had her doubts it was going to happen today. He had shown up for some reason and she wanted to know why. He started to pace then, looking down at the floor and occasionally shaking his head. Thade seemed to be arguing with himself, maybe even he didn't know why he was there. For some reason, all the normal sarcasm and quips she would have used on him seemed to escape her.

"Thade."

He stopped then and turned towards her, he looked irritated that she had interrupted his thought process.

"What's going on?" Her voice was soft and she sat up straighter. Even Laura couldn't believe how sincere she sounded, but something was wrong. Whatever it was she wanted to know and also wanted to know why he would be the one to tell her.

His attitude changed almost instantly from self turmoil to aggravation. He charged at her and gripped onto the arms of the chair she was sitting in. He leaned in and she pressed her back into the chair trying to create space between them. Thade was close enough she could make out that his eyes were dark green with specks of golden brown; She had to admit they were quite beautiful.

"You are infuriating human, but you did help me win your master's favor again. So I'm going to give you a strong piece of advice."

Laura felt shocked that he was willing to help her in any way, and by the looks of his body language, it seemed as if he really didn't want to. Either that or he wanted to make out, seriously, this guy had no idea what personal boundaries were. So the gist of it was that he felt in some way indebted to her and was now trying to get out of it with this. Laura would have laughed but he seemed very serious.

She sat back up, leaning in closer to him. While she had no idea why they were this close if he wasn't going to respect her boundaries then she sure as hell wasn't going to respect his. "First off, Nald hates your guts. My guess is because you're a murderer and you don't respect him. You only care about your own ambition. Second, I didn't help you out of some soft spot for you, I did it for my own reasons. You owe me nothing."

Thade snarled at her and grabbed her by the back of the neck, roughly pulling her out of the chair. She let out a cry of pain and gripped onto his wrist. "Keep your mouth shut around the senators!"

Fighting through the amount of pain she was feeling at the moment, she looked him straight in the eyes. Is he serious? That's what all of this is about? He's afraid that I'm going to mention our encounters?

"What do you think I'm going to tell them Thade? That you like getting me alone in dark alleyways, pinning me to walls, and pressing yourself up against me? You think they might have a problem with that," She practically spat the words out and then hissed as his grip tightened to the point where she was brought to her knees.

"This isn't a part of your sick game human," Thade snapped at her releasing her neck. Laura fell forward on one hand and rubbed the back of her neck with the other. "You think you're going to be able to change things, but all you're going to do is put a target on your back for every ape that wants humans dead or in chains. You think I want to kill you, just wait till you open your mouth to them. Just the act of you being there is an insult to them!"

Laura was about to go off on him but stopped when she suddenly realized he was right. She would never admit it to him but he was. The minute she walks into the gala, she is going to be in serious danger. Apes were going to want her dead, and they may even try and act on it. Sure Nald would try and keep her safe and maybe Ari would too, but they couldn't always be by her side. Doing this could very well mean her life. The thought made her stomach drop and she felt her heart clench.

"Let the pieces fall into place, you can't change things, humans and apes will never cooperate."

His tone seemed softer at this point, or maybe it just seemed that way because she was so lost in thought. Laura was supposed to be searching for Leo, and what about getting back to the ship; to her mom. It all came down to what was important and what should be important. The city was fucked up, people in chains and children in cages. Humans getting beat for minor offenses and some being walked around like pets. As much as she wished she could just drop it and find Leo and leave, she would never be able to forgive herself if she left the city like this.

Laura felt the anger bubbling under her skin and she snapped her head up to glare at him, "Maybe they could start if you would stop spreading your venom everywhere you look! Stop making the population see my kind as boogie men, hell isn't it bad enough that they see us as slaves and pets!"

The general rolled his eyes at her and let out a frustrated sigh, she knew they wouldn't be able to come to any kind of agreement. She couldn't help but wonder why he felt so strongly about this. Hate like this, it had to have been taught. It probably flowed like water through his family line. There was no way she could ask Thade about it, but Ari might have the answers shes looking for. She would have to deal with Ari's suspicions about her curiosity, but she could handle that. Still, the general went out of his way to warn her of the dangers she could face. He may have felt in her debt, but he didn't have to tell her at all.

Swallowing her earlier anger at the situation her expression softened as she spoke, "Thank you, for the warning. I know it isn't because you care but still, it's appreciated."

Thade seemed taken aback at her words like he hadn't expected them or maybe they made him uncomfortable. Which made Laura chuckle at his reaction, it was good to know there were other ways to mess with him besides making him angry. Laura started to make a move to stand up when she felt his hand holding her down. She looked up at him with a puzzled expression before she noticed him smirking down at her, which made her narrow her eyes at him in suspicion.

"You look better on your knees Laura."

Her eyes went as huge as dinner plates and her face turned blood red as her heart suddenly kicked into overdrive. While it should have been just the wording that messed with her head, it was also the fact he had used her real name. After all the times of him just calling her human, she swore he didn't even remember it. For the first time in his presence, she found herself lost for words. She didn't think he knew what he had just implied but when her face had turned red he had quickly stepped away from her and went back to his usual glare.

Laura quickly brushed off the feeling and stood up, "Well, well, and here I thought you didn't want to play. Okay, you got me, but just remember this. We are both going to be at the gala tonight and I can't wait to see what I come up with there," She walked right up to him and got so close their foreheads could have touched, "Just consider this your warning."

Thade grit his teeth at how close she was and refused to look her in the eye, but it only made her smile as she turned and went for the door to the house. "You should go now, my master will be home soon," Her hand landed on the knob but she turned to look at him once more. "Thade," His eyes shifted to land on her form as she spoke, "See you tonight."

He didn't reply but he didn't have to, just from the way he had reacted she knew she had managed to get under his skin. As she closed the door behind her she realized that even though she was scared about what could happen to her after the gala, she had never been more ready to face it.

Her master had come in not soon after and from seeing how excited he was she was guessing that he hadn't run into Thade on his way home. "This is going to be big Laura. A human has never been brought to one of these parties before," He said as he headed into his bedroom and came back out with a box. "Think of yourself as an ambassador for your kind tonight."

Well, no pressure.

"Is that why you wanted me to come tonight, to help my people?"

Nald smiled at her as he placed the box down on the dining room table. "Yes, I wanted you to help them. Maybe change some minds along the way."

"But I thought you wanted me to pretend, to keep myself hidden. Going to the gala and doing this, it's going to be very dangerous for me." Laura replied crossing her arms over her chest.

Nald stepped closer to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I knew that when you realized how things worked here, it would make you want to fight it. This way, at least you stay close to me, and I can keep you safe."

Laura smiled up at him and shook her head slightly, "Forgive me, It's just hard to know who to trust in this place."

"Don't worry about it, my dear," He said as he released her shoulders and moved back over to the dining room table. "But if you're going to be an ambassador, you better look the part." As he finished his sentence he pulled the lid off the box. He motioned for her to come forward and see the dress. It was a beautiful shade of dark red. Laura pulled it out of the box and marveled at it. It was absolutely beautiful.

"I love it Nald," She said as she ran her fingers over the satin fabric. Laura quickly went into the bathroom and changed into the dress. It fit her like a glove and she kept turning in the mirror. Looking at herself she decided to put her hair up, placing it high up on her head and letting some small hairs hang down. When she came back into the living room she smiled when Nald's jaw dropped. It reminded her of when she was young and her mother watched her come down the stairs for prom.

Laura felt a pang of sadness. She missed her mother dearly and wondered if she was looking for her out in space. Maybe they found Leo and would come for her as well. That would definitely give the locals something to talk about.

"You look stunning, they won't be able to take their eyes off of you."

"Thank you Nald." She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. It had been a long time since she had dressed up like this. Laura waited in the living room as Nald went and put the finishing touches on his own outfit. Looking out the window she couldn't stop the butterflies from fluttering in her tummy. The closer it got to the time to leave, the more they bothered her. Laura took a deep breath and then let it out slowly. She was going to need every bit of confidence that she had tonight.

She heard Nald come out of his room and she turned to see him. He was wearing a deep red and black robe with gold embroidery. "Who is this handsome Ape I'll be having on my arm tonight," Laura asked with a smirk and raised an eyebrow. Nald chuckled and shook his head. "Very slick," Laura continued smiling at her friend.

When Laura reached for her collar, Nald stopped her. "Nald, you know I have to wear it."

"Not tonight."

Laura gave him a questioning look and Nald held up a beautiful necklace. "They need to see you as an equal if you approach them with a collar on, that is all they will see."

After he had placed it on her he gave a soft, sad smile. "Taran would have loved you, you know. You're just as headstrong as she was."

"I think I would have liked her," Laura replied looking back at him.

He nodded and headed for the door after taking a deep breath. Laura touched the necklace and looked back over to him. He was looking at her with the door open and his arm raised. "Are you ready?"

Laura squeezed the necklace and gathered her courage. Looking back up at him she gave a sly smile and took his arm.

"Let's do this!"


	9. The Gala

Laura looked up at the door that led to the gala and then looked down at the ground below her. While she had been nervous about climbing the stairs that had been carved into the mountainside, she was relieved that the stairs were larger than she had originally thought. Not to mention the fact that Nald was right beside her keeping a good eye on her so she didn't fall. As they had climbed she had watched as some of the other apes attending had simply climbed up the tree with ease. Laura never thought she would wish to be an ape, but there it was.

Now, standing before the grand entrance to the senatorial building, she felt the butterflies going crazy in her stomach again. Nald seemed to take notice of her sudden nervousness and placed a hand on her shoulder, "You can do this."

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Laura knew she had to keep it together. One mistake, one falter and it could all be over. There was no way she could let that happen. Steeling herself she opened her eyes and turned to give Nald a confident smile, "I'm ready."

Nald squeezed her shoulder and then led her through the entrance and into the large building. The chambers were brightly lit with candles lining the walls and music played from the front of the room. There was a huge buffet of different foods, and some apes were already dancing together. Everything changed when Laura and Nald took their first steps into the chamber. One ape noticed and then alerted another and on and on until the whole hall had stopped and turned to look. Some looked disgusted, others enraged, but there were a few who looked shocked but curious.

Laura gathered all of the confidence she had and gave a bright smile. She felt Nald chuckle beside her and held her breath when the few who seemed curious stepped forward and gathered around them. They all had so many questions, she didn't know where to start. It wasn't long before she started to feel a bit overwhelmed.

"Alright, let the woman have some breathing room!" Laura sighed in relief as Ari pushed her way through the crowd to get to Laura. Getting to her side, Ari motioned for the crowd to disperse.

"At least let us know her name," A young chimp woman requested, "These parties have become so dull of late, it's nice to have someone cause an uproar for once."

"Her name is Dahlia," Nald replied smiling in her direction, "I think you all will come to find it suits her perfectly."

Laura gave a slight bow to the crowd around her, and spoke loud enough for them all to hear her, "It is my great pleasure to meet you all, I would be glad to speak to you all a little later tonight. For now, I must attend to some business with my master."

The crowd seemed surprised at her words and the chimp female smirked at her. "My, my, isn't she eloquent. I look forward to speaking with you later my dear. My name is Toaran."

After the crowd finally dispersed Ari wrapped Laura in a hug and then pulled away to look at her friend. "You look lovely tonight."

"Thank you, but Nald is the one who made it possible."

Her 'master' raised his hand and shook his head at her words, "I did nothing, the dress just helps to bring out her natural beauty."

Ari suddenly looked back behind her and then came in closer. "The senators are grouped together over in the middle of the room, the only one not present is my father. He should be here soon, but I should warn you, the other senators don't look happy."

Laura casually leaned to the side to get a better look behind her friend. They were grouped up and quietly whispering to each other in hushed but angry voices. Their eyes kept sweeping over to where Laura, Nald, and Ari stood and then back to each other. She really didn't want to go over there, but she knew she would have to. The last thing Laura wanted was to ignore the senators. Even though they hated her, she couldn't let their opinions of her people be seen as true. Nald looked down at her and she looked up to meet his gaze. He nodded at her and she took a deep steady breath as they made their way over to the grouped up senators.

When they got close enough to the group they seemed to spread out from the circle they had been standing in and decided to all nail her with scathing glares. Still, she kept her head high, she refused to let them make her feel small.

"Senator Nald, have you lost what little sense you had left by bringing this . . ." The Orangutan who Laura guessed was Nado, gave a disgusted look and waved his hand in her direction, "Human, to our political affairs?!"

"Senator Nado, Rem, Horus, I would like to introduce you to Dahlia. I know that while we have never had a human come to one of these events, I have also noticed that our views have been locked for a while on the human concern. I believe the reason we can't come to a reasonable agreement is that we have never heard from their side. That is why I have brought her."

"The reason we have never heard from their side is because we don't **care** about their side. We need to know how our decisions will affect our people, our religion, our money, and our government," Nado responded still giving Laura a hard glare. Yeah, she could tell she was not wanted he didn't have to keep up with the nasty looks.

"If you don't think that what we are doing to their kind isn't going to one day come back and bite us then you are a fool," Nald quickly retorted.

"Senator Nald, I really don't see how they can do anything to us. They are weaker, dumber, and don't have our technology. I really don't see how they threaten us in any way," The senator known as Rem spoke up.

"If that's what you really think senator, then our people are already dead."

Laura turned to see not only general Thade but also who she guessed to be Ari's father, Senator Sandar. He was an old chimp wearing exquisite silver and dark blue robes that hung off him and almost reached the floor. Oh, this is just perfect.

"Senator," Laura greeted them both with a nod and slight bow, "General, I didn't realize you had such little faith in your own people."

Thade snarled at her but she merely smiled back. "Why do I have a feeling you two have already met," Sandar asked looking between the two.

"You could say that; We have run into each other a few times. The general takes the safety of this city very seriously. Alas, I feel as though his paranoia about my people is greatly exaggerated," Laura replied making eye contact with Senator Sandar, "My people are no threat to yours. Some can barely even speak a word if you think they could mount a raid of any significance I can assure you it would be swiftly cast down."

The senators all seemed to be in awe, staring at her with wide eyes. She could feel rage radiating off Thade but she refused to make eye contact with him. This wasn't about the game they play, this was about the good of her people. Turning back to the rest of the senators she spoke with a steady voice, "At the same time it is also not a good idea to just open your gates to my people and just expect peace among both our kind. My people have had family and friends torn from their homes and brought here in chains. Not to mention the amount of dead that rests at your feet. There would most definitely be humans who would want revenge and would seek it out. That could lead to the deaths of innocent apes and possibly innocent humans."

"I don't believe we asked for your opinion human, you should stay in your place," Senator Nado said through clenched teeth.

It surprised them when Senator Horus took a step towards Laura and towered over her, "No, I want to hear what else the human has to say."

Senator Rem stared up at Horus with narrowed eyes, "Why should we give this human anymore of our time, she isn't even supposed to be here."

"I agree with Senator Horus," Ari's father spoke up from beside the general, "I want to see how her mind works, tell us then, how could there be peace between our people. I want to hear about your solution."

Laura could feel her heart pounding in her chest and stared back up at Senator Horus. The way he was towering over her almost made her feel safe. It was obvious he was curious about her, but she didn't know if that was a good thing or not.

"Please continue Dahlia," Nald said placing his hand on her upper back. The motion knocked her out of her thoughts and back into reality. She calmed her nerves and turned her attention back to Senator Sandar.

"What I suggest is releasing all the slaves you currently have in the markets. Ones that have just been caught, not ones that have been slaves for years. The reason is that my people might not trust their own people at this point. But if its humans that have just been caught that are released they may realize that something is changing. Give it some time then send a few baskets of food to the nearby villages. I have heard that humans have been raiding your farms for food. They probably forage for what little they can but they must be starving if they would risk their own people on raiding ape farms. First, we must earn some semblance of trust, then send in two ambassadors, one human, one ape. They will test the waters and maybe with time, there could be some kind of peace between our people. It will not happen quickly, and it will take a lot of time and effort. But it could be possible."

Senator Sandar seemed to be mulling over her words when Nado spoke up again.

"Tell me human since you seem to have all the answers, how is this peace going to help our people? You suggest we give the humans food out of the goodness of our hearts but what do we get out of this."

She felt a sudden flush of anger rush through her but she tried to keep it contained. "Senator, your people have killed and placed my people in chains for who knows how long. You think my people are dumb and worthless, but I am the complete opposite of both. My people are capable of learning new things, which you should already know seeing as how many of my people are servants. They have learned how to take care of your children and clean your homes, but we are capable of learning much more."

"Which is why we should wipe them out, the more they learn the more dangerous they will be to our people," Thade said finally deciding to chime in, which only served to annoy Laura more.

"What would you have me say, General? That there would be no risk in trying because there will always be certain risks, but the rewards it could offer could be greater. I'm not saying that we should throw open the gates and let the humans take over. But we could give them their own territory and help them learn certain things to help them be able to take care of themselves and their people. They don't want this city they want to be able to live without being afraid of who could be taken next or which village is going to be destroyed," She replied turning to face him with a strong glare, "Tell me General, how many attempts have you stopped where the humans were trying to take the city?"

Thade returned her glare but didn't say anything. He didn't even need to, she already knew the answer. Laura felt a strong sense of victory and even managed to sneak a wink in. Which made the general growl low in his throat. Everything was going well and she felt like she had a firm grasp on the situation.

"My family has done everything in their power to keep this city safe, and you would all throw it away on the words of some filthy creature."

Laura turned to face the voice and immediately felt the air leave her lungs. An elderly chimp stood behind them in long flowing silver robes, with black embroidery, and at his side stood High Priest Marcus. The way they were both looking at her made chills run down her spine. If she thought Marcus's eyes were empty, this chimp looked at her with eyes filled with pure rage. While she had started to get used to Thade's rage, this seemed to be on a whole other level. She felt like if they were in a room alone together, he would rip her apart without a second thought. A voice in the back of her head told her to run, but she couldn't move her feet.

"I knew you would be trouble the minute I saw you with Ari near the temple," Marcus growled, sneering at Laura.

Nald carefully took Laura's arm and slowly brought her closer to his side. Obviously she wasn't the only one nervous about the situation.

"We were wondering when you would join us Zaius," Nado said respectfully, "It's also very good to see you, High Priest."

"I want to know why this human is here," The High Priest asked turning his gaze on the Senator, "I'm surprised Semos hasn't smitted this whole building."

Nald took a step closer, trying his best to hide Laura behind him. "I brought her, I thought her opinion on our human concern could be useful."

The older chimp known as Zaius kept his hate-filled gaze on Laura, "You let this human think her opinion matters to any of us. Her kind are beasts, meant only to die or serve us. If I had any say, I would execute her here to entertain the guests."

Laura felt her hands grow slick with sweat. His eyes were boring into her and her heart was beating a mile a minute. Her life had been threatened by Thade many times but this ape's eyes on her scared her more than any of those threats. She could feel herself starting to shake when a hand came down on her shoulder. She looked up and standing over her was Senator Sandar.

"Her ideas were not so bad old friend, and she was as courteous as any of our people. I admit to being impressed by her," Sandar said keeping his eyes on Zaius, who only tore his eyes away from Laura to acknowledge Sandar. "Plus she has become a dear friend to my daughter, I wouldn't want to upset her by allowing this human's death."

"I am of a mind with Sandar, I would like to speak more with this human," Senator Horus proclaimed also coming up to stand behind her.

Zaius and Marcus seemed taken aback by this and were about to retort when they were cut off.

"Marcus, father, there are many other guests who want to speak with you. Don't let this human waste any more of your time. She isn't worth it," The General said gesturing to the small crowd gathering behind them all.

Laura felt her heart almost stop at his words.

Father! Zaius is his father! A lot of things are starting to make sense now.

"My son is right Marcus, let us attend to our own people," Zaius said turning himself away from Laura and heading towards the crowd. Marcus glared at her one last time before following his friend.

"They are right Senator Rem, let's not waste any more of our time here." Nado turned and started heading in the same direction with Rem closely on his heels.

Once they were gone Laura felt like she was standing on shaky legs. She had to take several deep breaths in and could feel someone chuckling beside her.

"Don't worry young one, Zaius and Marcus have that effect on a lot of our own people as well," Senator Horus said placing both of his arms behind his back, "You did well not to engage them."

Senator Sandar took his hand from Laura's shoulder and started to make his way towards the crowd as well, "Come, Senator Horus, we should go as well. It's what this gala is all about after all." He turned back to grace Laura with a smile before saying, "I am sure I will see you again Dahlia."

Laura mustered up enough nerve to give him a slight bow again as he turned and left with Horus. Nald beamed at her and took her shoulders in both hands.

"You did amazing my dear, I will speak to you again later, enjoy the party."

After he too was gone she realized Thade was the only one still around her. Taking a chance she glanced over at him and caught him glowering at her. To say she wasn't surprised would be an understatement. Laura sighed to herself before turning to face him directly. "I know you have something to say, so you might as well say it now."

Before he could open his mouth they both heard a stern voice come from the crowd of apes. "Thade, our people have questions for you, it would be best to attend to them."

Just the sound of Zaius's voice made a shiver run down Laura's spine. It surprised Laura that Thade actually looked mildly annoyed at the interruption. She went to pass by him and whispered in his ear with a devilish grin, "Don't worry general, I'm sure we will get our chance to argue before the party is over."

Thade seemed momentarily tense and his eyes went from her to the floor. The smile didn't leave her face as she walked away, making him uncomfortable always seemed to make her feel better. She noticed Ari standing at the buffet and quickly made her way over. The minute Ari saw her she quickly put down her plate and gave Laura her full attention. "So, how did it go?"

Laura took a deep breath in before she replied, "Well, I think it went pretty well, your father and Senator Horus seem interested in how my mind works. Nado and Rem didn't seem too convinced but maybe it will just take time." Her expression then changed to a taut smile as she continued, "Oh yeah, and Thade's father showed up and he and High Priest Marcus clearly want me dead. Other than that everything was fine."

Ari seemed shocked as she quickly looked towards the senators who were speaking to the crowd of apes. "Zaius is here! I had no idea he planned to be here. I would have warned you about him if I even thought for a second he would show."

"Don't worry about it Ari, I think the High Priest had a feeling I would be here, somehow, and let him know about it. Maybe that's why he came," Laura crossed her arms around herself, "I now see where Thade gets all his charm from."

The snicker that came from Ari made Laura smile again. She looked around at the buffet before plucking a grape from the vine and popping it in her mouth. The two stood there together for a bit just ape watching before the female ape from earlier suddenly approached them both. "Ari, Dahlia, is now a good time for us to talk?"

Ari smiled at Toaran before turning her eyes on Laura, "Dahlia, Toaran is a good friend of mine. We've known each other since we were children."

"Oh those were the days, we were young enough not to have to worry about all these politics and stuck up apes. I still remember when you used to drag home stray humans and beg your father to let you keep them. You were worried about them being mistreated, and your father has never been able to deny you. I'm glad to see it hasn't changed, he seems to have a softer approach to our concerns than the other senators," Toaran mused her gaze looking past them both and towards the senators.

"'Our concerns'? So you also agree that humans shouldn't be treated like slaves or pets," Laura asked her eyebrows raised in surprise.

Toaran let out a hearty laugh before she smirked at Laura, "Oh my dear you have no idea."

"This is a conversation we shouldn't have here my friends, I promise we will all get together soon and have this discussion. For now, let's just be glad that Dahlia was able to get through to at least one of the other senators," Ari said her voice low so no one else would hear other than her two friends.

"So the talk did go well, I am relieved. I must admit I thought they would cause a huge scene and would give Nald no choice but to make you leave. You must have really impressed them," Toaran reached down and picked up a mango from the buffet table and examined it before her gaze landed back on Laura. "I know I'm impressed."

Laura gave the female ape a smile before her gaze shifted away from her and towards the crowded gala. The music had started to pick up and more apes seemed to be heading for the dance floor. Watching them all dance in couples was quite a sight. Ari and Toaran started to head that way as well. They asked her if she would like to dance with them, but she felt like she needed some air, and decided to head towards the balcony instead.

The night air was warm and Laura leaned forward on the balcony rail letting it run through her hair. She could smell the earthy scents of the jungle, and she took a deep breath in and then out again. She wondered to herself if it ever got cold here, or what it was like when it rained. Maybe in time, she would get to experience both. Looking up into the night sky she almost gasped. She could see the stars so well here, and the two moons above seemed so huge from where she stood. Inside Laura couldn't help but wonder if Leo was looking at the same moons she was.

Feeling eyes on her Laura quickly glanced towards the shadows and bit the inside of her cheek. Thade was watching her and she couldn't help but wonder how long he had been standing there.

"Enjoying the view General? I know I am."

Thade stepped out enough so that the moonlight hit him partially and she heard him let out an aggravated huff. "Do you have any idea what you've started, what could happen to the apes of this city if they think humans can be trusted?"

"They might actually start treating humans like people instead of animals," She let out a mocking gasp and placed her hand against her forehead in a dramatic gesture. "Oh, the horror."

"This is going to get my people killed and you will be the one with blood on your hands," He snarled his fists balling up at his sides.

"You know Thade, your problem is that you're scared of us," Laura snapped losing her humor quickly.

The chimp narrowed his eyes at her, "What?"

Laura smiled and took a step towards him. "Yeah you're scared, at first I thought it was just pointless hatred and way too much paranoia, but no, you're just afraid. You're scared that if I'm as smart as I am, that might mean that there are others like me. Maybe they are out there building an army and planning to come and take over the city," As she spoke she kept coming towards him. "Sure the other humans wouldn't be able to do it, but with me or someone as smart as me leading them, they could actually be a force to reckon with-"

She was grabbed so fast she didn't see it coming and was thrown up against the tree with a hand wrapped tightly around her neck. Finding that she could barely breathe she noticed eyes of pure fury staring straight at her. "Is that a threat human?" He spoke through gritted teeth. Laura tried to push him off but he just grabbed both of her wrists in one hand and pulled them up over her head.

Me and my big fucking mouth!

"You realize after coming here that more apes than me want you dead now? I may be a suspect but I wouldn't be the only one anymore. Any of those disgusted apes in there could have been the one to do you in human," He underlined his words by squeezing her throat until she let out a cough.

All the color drained from her face as she realized he was right. The only thing that really kept him at bay was the fact that he would be the only one it could have been. Now though, it could be any of the pissed-off apes in the other room. The only protection she might have had just crumbled right in front of her, and it was all because she opened her mouth.

When he had noticed how pale she had become he knew she had realized the truth of the situation. The malicious grin that settled on his face made her swallow hard and she knew he felt it against his hand. The way he was looking at her made her tremble and she could feel her fear rising.

He wouldn't kill me here, would he? All the other apes are just in the other room. If I could just get his hand away from my throat I could scream. They might be able to hear me over the music if I'm lucky.

"Looks like all that teaching Ari did, didn't help you after all," Thade taunted his thumb moving to grip the side of her chin, his nail dug into her and she winced from the pain.

Laura felt her eyes widen as what he said sunk in. All that time she had felt like she was being watched and now she knew who it was. He must have been following her ever since that day he had seen her at Ari's.

But why? What could he possibly hope to gain? Suddenly a thought hit her like a truck and she knew she had to run with it. Even if it wasn't true, maybe it would throw him off balance just enough that she could getaway.

Laura calmed her breathing as best she could, trying to calm her racing heart. A knowing smirk moved across her lips, which he noticed right away because she felt his grip tighten on her wrists and throat.

"What are you smiling about human," He hissed at her.

Laura grunted against the force of his grip but tried to say the words as clearly as she could. "You want to kill me but you can't."

Thade growled at her words and dug his nail deeper into her chin causing her to gasp. "You really think that?"

"You have a prime opportunity here Thade but even I can tell you're stalling," Laura grunted through his grip. "And I think we both know why, even if you won't admit it to yourself."

His grip seemed to loosen as his body went rigid and she knew she had him. "I know you've been watching me Thade, but I have a feeling it hasn't been to make sure I don't cause any trouble. You're curious about me, and you can't help but seek me out. Warning me of a danger that you could have easily just taken advantage of from the start. You find me infuriating and yet I'm always there in the back of your mind like a scratch you can't reach."

"You have a very high opinion of yourself human," He had meant for the words to come out harshly but they were barely a whisper. At this point, his grip had completely failed him, the arm holding her throat falling to his side. The only grip that remained was the hand holding her arms above her head. Now it just came down to the killing blow. Leaning into him she felt him shudder, with a sly smile she whispered in his ear, "I can give you what you want."

That seemed to get his attention as his eyes came back up to hers. Laura was searching for some kind of emotion in them, but it seemed to be a crazed mix that she couldn't make out. She moved closer until their foreheads could have touched and let her gaze fall from his eyes to his lips then back again.

"Maybe I want it too."

At first, she got exactly what she was expecting, confusion, and then when the realization hit it turned into anger mixed with disgust. She didn't let his expression faze her as she spoke looking him right in the eyes, "You know you want too."

What she hadn't expected was for just a split second, his eyes moved down to her lips and then complete and utter shame seemed to wash over him. It was practically radiating off him. Laura nearly lost all the breath in her lungs. When he looked back up at her and noticed her shock the anger returned with a passion and he snapped himself away from her and over the balcony. When he was gone Laura fell to her knees; It seemed she had been relying solely on his strength to keep her standing. She stared at the wooden floor of the balcony for she didn't know how long, trying to wrap her mind around what had just occurred.

That wasn't supposed to happen. She thought to herself as she tried going over the events again. Remembering her own words she felt her cheeks heat up. Why did I say it that way?! It made it sound like I actually think about us that way! There's no possible way I meant that! Her head lifted to where she had seen him jump over the balcony. Did I?

As Laura felt like she was slowly losing her own mind, Ari showed up on the balcony and noticed Laura kneeled down in the shadows and rushed over to her. "Dahlia, what happened? Are you alright?!"

Laura didn't know how to feel or what to say. The way Thade had acted towards her and the way he hated humans, she hadn't thought it would be even slightly possible for him to think about her in any way other than as an enemy, or at least a huge pain in his ass. The pure shame that seemed to envelop him had said something quite different though and it wasn't the first time he seemed angry at himself around her.

"Say something, what happened?!"

How could she tell Ari? How was there any way her friend would believe her, especially since Ari had known Thade since they were children? Laura looked at her friend and then back out into the starry night sky. She knew she would have to tell Ari something, but could she really tell her friend the truth? Laura's mind kept replaying what had happened and she was pretty sure even she didn't completely believe it.

He actually thought about it.


End file.
